Ashford Conservatives

Council Tax - Stealth

Conservatives have accused the Government of turning the council tax system into the country's "ultimate stealth tax", after a survey revealed that millions of families are struggling to pay their local government bills.

With the highly respected Joseph Rowntree Foundation reporting that over two million households are facing severe difficulties coping with their council tax demands, Caroline Spelman warned: "The Government's abuse of the council tax system has turned it into the ultimate stealth tax. A third of the basic state pension increase since 1997 is now ruthlessly snatched back in local taxes."

The Shadow Local Government Secretary protested: "Labour's increased use of means tested benefits and complex application forms has resulted in a reduced take-up of council tax benefit, so more people on lower incomes are paying higher council taxes."

With the average council tax bill in England now over the £1,000 mark - leaving local authorities with a £589 million shortfall in unpaid bills, which they pass on to those householders who do pay their dues, Mrs Spelman declared:

"Hard-working families and pensioners are suffering from ever-increasing bills across the board - gas, electricity and water. But with council tax having shot up 84 percent under Labour, it is meeting this monthly bill that is causing very real worries to many people."

Last Updated ( Thursday, 28 September 2006 )

Labour: Rules Don't Apply

Chris Grayling has warned of the deterioration of standards in politics under Labour, and has accused Tony Blair and his lieutenants of repeatedly breaking the Ministerial Code while failing to activate plans to clean up public life.

Speaking just hours before David Cameron presents his submission on 'cleaning up politics' to Ken Clarke's democracy task force, Mr Grayling cited a series of Labour sleaze scandals, and stated: "In Opposition, the Prime Minister demanded the establishment of the new Standards Committee, and defended its recommendations with fiery rhetoric. Yet in Government, he has done his best to stall its most problematic recommendations."

Addressing an audience at the London School of Economics, the Shadow Transport Secretary charged Labour ministers with being out of touch with their political roots, and the aspirations of those who elected them, and declared: "There is the issue of personal conduct - of the Blairs, of David Blunkett, of Peter Mandelson, of John Prescott - and in particular the way in which they have chosen to ignore the rules of conduct that they themselves demanded when they were in opposition."

He protested: "The truth is that the trouble with the current Government is that they just don't seem to think the rules apply to them. That failure comes right from the top - from both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. In opposition a decade ago Gordon Brown was robust in his demands for a change to the culture of Government. Tony Blair was brutal in his criticisms of the last Government when he believed it was not living up to the standards that people expected of it, and said 'we have got to be whiter than white if we are to rebuild trust in government'."

Last Updated ( Thursday, 28 September 2006 )

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