What Lynne Hillan neglects to mention is that the Conservatives took over at Barnet Council in 2003. Then the council tax was lower than the National Average and much lower than Brent Council next door. This year it is higher than the National Average and Higher than Brent Council. What is the difference between Brent Council & Barnet Council. Well for a start the Leader of Brent Council is a Liberal Democrat called Paul Lorber and the Lib Dems control the Council.Keeping council tax downSIR – As leaders of Conservative local authorities, we are sick of hearing Labour ministers crowing about how they have helped keep council tax down this year.Readers should be aware that we have managed to keep taxes low in our authorities despite the efforts of John Denham and his department.Labour red tape has led to the unprecedented council tax increases since 1997.The average increase is so low this year through a combination of two factors. First, Conservative authorities have been committed, as always, to efficient and low-cost public services. Second, with every passing year, more high-tax Labour councils are failing at the ballot box.
Now I'm sure some of the Conservative Council Leaders who have signed the letter have done a fine job and are competent administrators. I just think that given the record of Conservatives on Barnet Council, who have made Council tax payers look enviously West towards Brent (who would have believed that a few years ago), they should never have allowed Lynne Hillan to hijack their letter or associate themselves with low Council taxes. The Conservatives in Barnet have nothing at all to teach anyone about running a council efficiently.
Brent Vs Barnet
| Band | Brent | Barnet | Difference |
| A | £912.51 | £948.84 | £36.33 |
| B | £1,064.59 | £1,106.79 | £42.20 |
| C | £1,216.68 | £1,264.91 | £48.23 |
| D | £1,368.76 | £1,423.02 | £54.26 |
| E | £1,672.93 | £1,739.25 | £66.32 |
| F | £1,977.10 | £2,055.48 | £78.38 |
| G | £2,281.27 | £2,371.70 | £90.43 |
| H | £2,737.52 | £2,846.04 | £108.52 |
I asked a promenant Local Conservative for a comment recently. His response "Erm, er, are you sure?" Yes I am - CLICK HERE FOR BARNETS FIGURES and then CLICK HERE FOR BRENTS FIGURES. If you think you are voting Conservative in the Council Elections for low tax, think again. High Council TAx in Barnet isn't the fault of the Labour Government. It is the fault of a useless Conservative Council, who blame everyone but themselves for the problems.
2 comments:
Now Rog how do you compare that to LIBERAL DEMOCRAT Richmond Upon Thames then! Here are the figures!
Band Valuation Council Tax charge
A £1,064.81
B £1,242.27
C £1,419.74
D £1,597.21
E £1,952.15
F £2,307.08
G £2,662.02
H £3,194.42
Click here for the figures:
http://www.richmond.gov.uk/home/council_government_and_democracy/council/council_tax/council_tax_property_bands_and_charges.htm
"Amanda"
Well done. You've managed to hunt around and find a Lib Dem Council which is more expensive than Barnet on the other side of London.
I sort of think comparing like with like is a good way to go, which is why I used a Council which is a neighbour, which Barnet had lower Council tax than when the Tories took control.
In 2003/4 Richmond upon Thames had a Council tax level of £1268.23, which shows that the level of rises in Richmond upon Thames has been far lower than under the Tories in Barnet
http://cabnet.richmond.gov.uk/Published/C00000163/M00000792/AI00003292/$CAB250203item09RevenueBudgetCouncilTax200304.doc.pdf
By the way, as we are exchanging websites, have a look at this one.
http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/publications/factsandfigures/dmag-update-2008-04.pdf
This shows that whilst Barnet has the worst record for collecting Council Tax, Richmond-upon-thames has the second best.
It seems that like most Barnet Tories, "Amanda" doesn't like to do her homework. That's probably why she doesn't know when to use an ! either.
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