Tory MPs last night ignored Labour’s calls to scrap the planned council tax rise which will cost the average family around £100.
St Helens Borough Council faces a budget gap of up to £20m because of a decade of austerity and now the impact of Covid: https://www.sthelenslabour.org/latest-news/2021/01/21/budget/
Council Leader David Baines says: “Tory Ministers have claimed they are increasing the spending power of councils, but what that means in reality is they’re allowing councils to increase council tax by more. After a decade of cuts and the impact of Covid, and faced with the alternative of letting essential services completely collapse, the fact is that many councils won’t have a choice but to raise council tax.
I want to thank our MPs Conor McGinn and Marie Rimmer and all our Labour MPs for voting to protect council taxpayers and council services. Shame on the Tories for ignoring the vote and turning their backs on essential services.”
Speaking in Parliament, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Communities, Steve Reed MP, said it was wrong to force up bills at a time when so many families are already under pressure: https://twitter.com/SteveReedMP/status/1353806207677587456?s=20