Council Tax Freeze "Pre-election gimmick" says Mike Barker (Darlington and Sedgefield Liberal Democrats)

Darlington and Sedgefield Liberal Democrats <joe.kelley@darlingtonlibdems.org.uk>

Council Tax Freeze "Pre-election gimmick" says Mike Barker

January 12, 2010 10:00 PM

Since Darlington became a Unitary Authority in 1997, Council Tax in Darlington has risen by 132%, one of the largest increases in the whole country and well above the national average figure for Unitary Authorities of 87%, This year, which just happens to be General Election year, the Labour Council are proposing to make almost 80 Council employees redundant and make significant cuts in Council services, in order to impose a one year freeze on Council Tax.

Mike Barker, at this week's Cabinet Meeting, called this proposal a crude election gimmick. The excessive rises in Council Tax over recent years, using local residents' hard-earned money to pay for Labour's pet vanity projects, will not be forgotten just because of a freeze for one year.