Labour's Promises Fall Short as Council Tax rises in Stafford Borough
By Steven Walley
Following on from the Labour led Stafford Borough Council increasing brown bin and parking charges, further tax hikes were inflicted on taxpayers across Stafford Borough this week with the news that council tax would increase by nearly 3%.
The near 3% increase completely contradicts pledges made in campaign literature that was distributed across Stafford Borough by the Stafford and Stone Labour party last year.
Back in October 2023, the Labour Party distributed leaflets across Stone and Stafford, promising to reduce the cost of living for residents. One of their key strategies to delivering on this pledge was a commitment to freezing council tax if they were to come into power.
The irony is clear. On one hand the local Labour party are campaigning widely on a platform of freezing council tax but the moment they get the opportunity to "put their money where their mouth is” they do the exact opposite and increase charges for residents.
The council tax increase was voted on at a council meeting on the 30th of January with the support of The Stone Independent Party and the Green Party.
This unnecessary decision to increase the cost of living for hard working families follows a similar decision back in December when the Labour led coalition voted to increase parking and brown bin charges and raises important questions about the Labour party's commitment to its campaign promises.
It’s also noteworthy that the amount of the increase (2.99%) was fractionally under the amount needed to force a referendum. An increase of 3% would have required a public vote.
Adding to the controversy, it has also been revealed that the revenue raised by these council tax increases will not be spent on front line services and will just sit in the councils’ reserves.
Since going into opposition, the Conservative group at Stafford Borough have consistently fought to freeze council tax and keep charges low for residents.
Conservative Councillor, Mark Winnington, proposed an amendment, seconded by Conservative group leader Jeremy Pert, that proposed to freeze council tax at existing levels. Councillor Winnington argued that prudent financial management under the previous Tory administration had resulted in a significant financial windfall that rendered the council tax increase unnecessary.
This windfall, totalling £2.3 million pounds, includes £1.6 million in interest payments from investments made by the Borough council under the previous Conservative administration and a revenue surplus of over £700,000, also generated under the previous Conservative administration.
Councillor Winnington’s stance emphasized the principle that individuals are better equipped to decide how to spend their own money as opposed to that money sitting idly in council reserves.
The list of councillors who voted in favour of the council tax increase is telling. Surprisingly, all five of the Stone based Stafford Borough Independent Councillors also supported the tax hike. This raises further questions about the Stafford Borough Independents who classify themselves as a group of independent minded individuals free of the party politics of Westminster.
These council tax increases in Stone and Stafford have raised huge concerns amongst residents about the Labour Party's ability to deliver on its campaign promises. The contradiction between their commitment to freezing council tax and the subsequent increase has left residents questioning the sincerity of their intentions.
At a time when Kier Starmer is under constant scrutiny for the reversal of long-standing policies and pledges, voters are right to ask whether the Labour party can be trusted. On the evidence of what we have seen this week in Stafford Borough, the answer is a resounding 'NO'.
