John Beesley: The Lib Dems are pushing up Council Tax in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole by 7.4 per cent

Cllr John Beesley is the Leader of the Conservative Group on Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council

Just before Christmas, I was made aware that Bournemouth Christchurch & Poole Council’s Lib Dem leadership were secretly trying to obtain permission from the government to raise council tax in excess of the capped 4.99 per cent for 2006/27, but without the inconvenience of a public referendum as would normally be required.

Even 4.99 per cent is an inflation-busting increase, and anything greater would of course be on top of the new precept being charged by the Lib Dems for their brand-new tax-raising Town Councils. Once the Bournemouth Daily Echo were made aware, it was revealed by the Lib Dem administration that their preferred increase in Council Tax is in fact 7.4 per cent. If successful in obtaining the government’s permission for this 7.4 per cent increase, they will presumably attempt to repeat the exercise next year as well, and since it is an election year, pretend that it was the government’s idea.

Obviously, until the secret was forced out, nobody else was aware of the Lib Dem administration’s continued lack of ambition to keep bills down for residents, leading to this consequential attempt to burden them with even higher taxes, and a complete unwillingness to do so in a democratic, open and transparent way. The referendum threshold is of course there for a reason – to allow local democracy to have its say before the council requires residents to pay in excess of the limit in their council tax bills.

In addition, new Town Councils have been imposed on residents across Bournemouth and Poole and come into being this Spring. They carry an additional council tax charge, and residents will be forced to pick up the £1million cost of holding fresh elections for them in May, in addition to the costs charged to residents for setting them up and running services through them, services which are already being paid for through the existing council tax. The gross cost of the three town clerks alone comes to an eye-watering £250k per annum, again for residents to pay in the new precept.  These new Town Councils in Bournemouth and Poole are unwanted and unnecessary, and are being imposed against the overwhelming results of the Council’s own consultation of residents.

To help reduce the burden of unwanted cost, the Lib Dem administration could of course, make changes to some of its political priorities and save the Council money that it doesn’t have. For example, it could start by shelving its soon to be introduced residents’ card which in reality is really no more than a political gesture to be paid for by local council taxpayers.

And as if all that isn’t enough, within the following two years we shall also see yet another precept added for residents to pay in the launch of the government’s regional mayor, supported by the Lib Dem administration in yet another layer of local government we don’t want or need.

Council tax support will remove these extra tax burdens for some people on benefits, but there are many who get no help and are really struggling, especially those of working age who pay their taxes, and the elderly who are grappling with bills, yet are on fixed incomes with no other means of support.

Most residents realise that this is not about wider democracy, but all about charging an additional precept for services which BCP Council should already be providing, and which are currently paid for through council tax bills. This additional charge will be on top of the increase in council tax bills next spring, not just the inflation busting 4.99 per cent allowed by government but by 7.4 per cent this year and probably every year thereafter.  Even worse, what has occurred in many places where Town Councils have been introduced is that the charges continually increase as the new councils grow their appetite to do more, and therefore charge more, every year.

Like the government, the Lib Dem administration running BCP Council is addicted to raising taxes on local people at every opportunity. They will say that the alternative is further cuts in services. They never talk about making the Council truly more efficient and businesslike as that is the harder option for them – much harder than forcing residents to pay more and then blaming the government.

The Conservatives’ greatest concern is for those many residents who are really struggling with their bills already and who cannot afford yet another cost which they neither need nor want. This Council is out of touch with the reality of how tough things are for many people financially, and it seems that (like the government) the solution is always to tax people more at every opportunity. They are dependent on increases in taxation being the solution to every problem that they have been elected to solve. It’s lazy and unnecessary, but it’s the easiest solution for those with no imagination about how to resolve financial problems in local government.

The Conservatives at BCP Council have opposed these new Town Councils from the start, and yet they will be imposed on residents from this Spring, forcing additional elections and costs on hard-pressed local residents.

The Lib Dems are clearly addicted to increases in taxation at every opportunity, without offering anything in return to improve services for BCP residents.