Q. Have the Conservatives really changed when their Norwich Manifesto states they intend to offer a 10% rebate on Council to every council tax payer? And offering greater investment? Doesn't this sound like every past Conservative manifesto?
A. Your views....?
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8 comments:
Do you believe council tax is too high? Maybe too much compared to the level and quality of services?
What do you think should be done with the £3.2m business grant ... Labour LibDems and Greens want to spend it on preperations for another round of local government reorganisation.
We would use around £800,000 to cut tax - the first ever real terms tax cut - and the other £2.4million to boost services.
A small tax cut maybe but it shows the direction we want to go in.
Your post is too simplistic and rather typical ... did you plan Labour's 2005 election campaign by any chance?
Fact: Conservative councils cost you less. Norwich Conservatives will cut tax and set a lower budget.
But, because we oppose unitary, we can do so whilst spending more on frontline service than any other party.
Thanks for your comment Anthony. I pick topics which hopefully generate debate. I do agree with tax cuts as a philosophy as long as they don't infringe on the quality of provision. I only object to council tax rises when they are above inflation, quite happily accept lower taxes
You guys crack me up. I guessed that Malthues was a Tory friend of Anthony’s, pretending to be neutrally “kind or critical” of local parties.
This post was like the labour back benchers who stand up in parliament’s questions to ask a cabinet member “Will the right honourable gentleman please tell the house of the wonderful effect our wonderful new policy on blah-dee blah…”
Malthues posts a ‘critical’ stab at a Norwich Conservatives key manifesto point, clearly aware that this is actually a popularist policy and there’s just been a backlash over council tax rise. Oh, and what’s this? Now Anthony can conveniently expatiate on this point in the form of a reply.
Lovely stuff boys.
Haha, i can assure you that i am no 'Tory friend' of Anthony. I think Anthony would be bemused to think we are part of a e-conspiracy! I posted this subject to get peoples views on whether a debate should be made. The idea of the blog is to open up debate about politics in Norwich.FYI last election i voted Lib Dem national and Green local...!
Remember Maltheus, the Tories promised to introudice lower council tax if they took control of Norfolk County Council in 2001. In this case they have spectacularly failed to deliver. In North Norfolk in reent years Tory budget ammendments have been horrendously misguided and in some cases have meant further tax rises, in each case leading to them to be withdrawn in they then support the Lib Dem budget anyway.
Remember that the Tories have the benefit of knowing that they can promise what they want because they will never have the power in Norwich to introduce there policies pledges. There pledges are also not open to proper financial scrutiny in the same was as national political parties (like the Lib Dems) put their general election pledges under.
Oh, and for facts, it would be worth noting that when the Local Government Association used to calculate average tax rises in politically controlled councils, Tory council rises were, on average, the highest.
That said, these statistics are always subject to lots of other factors.
One simple fact. Breckland make much of their "Second lowest council tax in the country" label. However, if North Norfolk Counil got the same grant from central government that Breckland gets North Norfolk could cut council tax by 32%, and that takes no account of the extra things that North Norfolk has to do that breckland don't (like Torist information, coastal defences, life guards, etc).
It is worth noting that Breckland Tories referred to Labour's attmepts to introduce a 0% tax rise this year as "cynical". If this is the case, what does it say for Norwich Tories ?
Hiya, I think it is important to note all of the 'other costs' which you need to pay in Breckland for them to achieve the 'lowest council tax' - i.e. you pay extra for bulky items to be collected which has resulted in a huge increase in fly-tipping and you pay extra for brown wheelie bin collections for garden waste - two things a lot of other councils include in the overall council tax. You pay a seperate 'street light levy' which has been pushed onto the town/parish councils and they might have the lowest council tax (by how much no-body seems to know!) but we dont half know it through our poor public services! TJ
I agree. Breckland "spin" their tax figures. Broadland similrly do much the same by pusing costs of maintaining toilets in towns like Aylsham away from their budget and on to Aylsham Town Council instead.
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