Labour wants to put up your Council Tax by 31%

12.00.00am GMT Fri 10th Jan 2003

Plans unveiled by Gordon Brown, Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, would mean a rise in Islington Council Tax of almost a third, Lib Dems can now reveal. Every year the Government tells local Councils what it thinks they ought to spend on services. But the local government financial settlement announced by Gordon Brown last week will not cover this amount. Covering the gap would mean increasing Islington Council Tax by 31% Councillor Paul Fox, Executive Member for Resources, said "Liberal Democrats pledged that we will keep the Council Tax below the London average, and we will stick by that pledge. We will not bow to Labour pressure to increase Council Tax by as much as this. But Labour are making it very difficult for us. "Many people in Islington voted Labour in the General Election last year because they thought a Labour Government would commit money to areas like Islington which desperately need investment. But the truth is that for each of the last three years the Labour Government has given Islington a smaller increase in spending than across London generally. "Labour is taking money out of London to give to the rest of the country, and taking money out of Islington to give to the rest of London. "Across the country the average increase in government grant is 5.9%. Labour is giving Islington just 4.4% - which is not even enough to cover the cost of the public sector pay rises already agreed and Gordon Brown's Health Tax. "Islington Liberal Democrats pledged that we will keep the Council Tax below the London average while continuing to improve services - and we will."