James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East, has welcomed proposals announced today by the Conservatives to freeze council tax increases for two years.
The Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, announced the proposals at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. The move would save a Band D classified house over £200 over the two years. The proposals would be funded by reductions in spending by local councils, and these reductions would then be matched by a Conservative government leaving the councils able to freeze council tax increases.
Since Labour came to power in 1997, the average council tax annual bill has more than doubled from £688 to £1,374 – three times as fast as inflation. George Osborne explained his proposal saying,
“We are going into partnership with local councils. If they find matching savings in their town hall, we will give them these savings from Whitehall”.
The Conservative Party will pay for the council tax freeze by reducing spending on consultants, which the government currently pays five times more than private companies pay their consultants, and by reducing spending on advertising – which last year amounted to £350 million, five times more then Tesco.
James has welcomed the news saying,
“These proposals will really help the public through difficult economic times - where and when they need their Government’s help the most. We cannot expect the whole country to be tightening their belts and economising, whilst the Government continues to freely spend taxpayer’s money on things like advertising and private sector consultants.
That’s why a Conservative government would assess the needs of British taxpayers and put them first.”
17 September 2008