Labour frozen your Council Tax

2-year Council tax freeze policy which will benefit people in Medway

The news from the budget last week that Labour has frozen Council tax for two years has been met positively on the phones tonight as Labour targets Lordswood & Capstone and Strood Rural as the key marginals in the up coming local election.

Labour have set some positive policy positions over the last three weeks from heritage-led regeneration programmes, supporting our Police and rolling out community pay-back to the Council tax freeze and cuts to fat cat Tory Councillor perks.

It can also be revealed that the average band D property in a Labour ward in Chatham pays less than an average band D property on Peninsula because of the additional precepts.

Meanwhile, Councillor Jarrett has belatedly responded to the Labour Council tax freeze announcement in a mildly desperate press statement today (looks like someone is desperate to keep his job after May!):

"Labour in Medway has no alternatives, no ideas and refuse to help hard working people by supporting [our] Council Tax freeze."

See above policy ideas on cutting Tory fat cat pay perks, on regeneration, on stamping out anti-social behaviour. Labour have indicated a two-year tax freeze because as a potential administration it is only right that people know where we stand.

More policies to come.

"They voted against a budget, which protects front line services;"

We did vote against the budget because it did cut front line services. Cllr Jarrett is being a chancer not a chancellor in a statement which beggars all common sense. It is simply beyond the belief of the independent voter to see £23.5m cuts as not having some impact.

See the fisking on this blog on the 'unprecedented' brutal cuts to front line services

"perhaps we can surmise from this that they would introduce swingeing cuts to key services like their counterparts have done in other local authorities."

An attempt to deflect as neither party has an influence on decisions made elsewhere and nor should we. The Tory government has indeed gerrymandered funding from poorer urban areas to leafy Surrey suburbs. Ironically this includes £3.5m of floor damping money from Medway.

"If they had any shred of credibility they would have supported our budget which offers residents low Council Tax bills, better services and value for money."

Labour have committed to a Council tax freeze, and incidentally established Medway Council with the lowest Council tax, which Cllr Jarrett inherited in 2003. And let us not forget it was the Conservartives in the 1990s that created the tax in the first place.

People are tired of the same old spin from the same old Tory faces.

Time for a new generation of change for Medway.