Ely Council Tax Rise 'A Kick In Teeth For Taxpayers' says Pickles

Residents of Ely and the East Cambs district face a 2.95% rise in the level of Council Tax, flying directly in the face of the wishes of the government. Such rises were described this week by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles as "a kick in the teeth for hard-working, decent taxpayers".

According to the government minister, local councils have "a moral duty" to freeze council tax for families struggling with rising household budgets. Said Eric Pickles this week: "This year, it will be tough for many people - facing pay freezes at work, be it in the public or private sector, as well as a rising cost of living. This is why it's essential in February and March, as town hall budgets are set, that councils sign up to the Council Tax freeze."

He went onto warn that councils choosing to fly in the face of government advice could suffer retribution from local voters at the next elections. Signing up to the Council Tax freeze is "practical help every councillor can offer to their ward constituents," he went on to argue. "A vote against the Council Tax freeze is a vote for punishing tax-rises. Local taxpayers will remember that decision next time they cast their vote at the ballot box. Councillors have a moral duty to sign up to keep down the cost of living - anything less is a kick in the teeth to hard-working, decent taxpayers."

It would seem that the Conservative leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council does not agree, as this week Peter Moakes attempted to justify the council's price hike, even though it contradicts the wishes of his own party. "While in an ideal world we would have preferred to freeze our council tax," said Moakes, "we are concerned in doing so would mean having to make significant rises in future years to cover the holes in our budget. This is a case about being financially prudent and careful with the finances which we have fought very hard to bring under control." 

Whitehall figures show that 142 councils in England have so far agreed to the freeze, but East Cambridgeshire is among just a small minority arguing that they cannot afford it. These include Green Party-led Brighton & Hove and several other Tory-controlled councils such as Chelmsford, Surrey and Peterborough.