Paying Through The Nose for Labour
Our Labour bosses who now meet as a Cabinet in the afternoons when most people are at work have pulled no punches in hitting the elderly and vulnerable hardest in their first budget. It also means they won't be bringing children to demonstrate as they did in 2005 because they're all at school until after 3 p.m.
If you live in an average home the Council Tax bills dropping through your letter box early next month will be a tad under 1,200 pounds. Last year the previous Conservative and Liberal administration managed a tax freeze in the Lambeth element of the Council Tax while Labour proposed a cut in council tax through a series of ranting speeches that had no properly constructed table attached with the specific details.
But, lo, history has been rewritten. In his speech at the afternoon Cabinet on February 8 the Leader of the Council criticised the previous administration for NOT raising council tax to allow for inflation when his proposals in 2006 would have CUT the council tax not freeze it. The Labour proposals last year were put together by a journalist - and we all know that the press exercises power without responsibility. Perhaps this is less important than the rising tide of anger about the proposed huge increases in social care charges for the elderly and the voluntary sector.
Despite some hand wringing, nothing has emerged from the Cabinet about how it plans to mitigate the effect of these cuts on elderly people and their carers. The proposals on February 8 were unchanged from the previous Cabinet meeting on January 8, (surely some mistake?).There are plenty of proposals in the alternative Conservative budget amendments that would help reduce waste and leave resources to spare that could restore the cuts. They could start with their own bank accounts and revisit some of the huge allowances that have paid to the administration's payroll vote. Looking at the council agenda for budget setting on February 28, which contains a proposed debate on Palestine and Israel and a jibe at Tony's mate George W Bush, they are clearly more interested in foreign policy than local residents.
If you live in an average home the Council Tax bills dropping through your letter box early next month will be a tad under 1,200 pounds. Last year the previous Conservative and Liberal administration managed a tax freeze in the Lambeth element of the Council Tax while Labour proposed a cut in council tax through a series of ranting speeches that had no properly constructed table attached with the specific details.
But, lo, history has been rewritten. In his speech at the afternoon Cabinet on February 8 the Leader of the Council criticised the previous administration for NOT raising council tax to allow for inflation when his proposals in 2006 would have CUT the council tax not freeze it. The Labour proposals last year were put together by a journalist - and we all know that the press exercises power without responsibility. Perhaps this is less important than the rising tide of anger about the proposed huge increases in social care charges for the elderly and the voluntary sector.
Despite some hand wringing, nothing has emerged from the Cabinet about how it plans to mitigate the effect of these cuts on elderly people and their carers. The proposals on February 8 were unchanged from the previous Cabinet meeting on January 8, (surely some mistake?).There are plenty of proposals in the alternative Conservative budget amendments that would help reduce waste and leave resources to spare that could restore the cuts. They could start with their own bank accounts and revisit some of the huge allowances that have paid to the administration's payroll vote. Looking at the council agenda for budget setting on February 28, which contains a proposed debate on Palestine and Israel and a jibe at Tony's mate George W Bush, they are clearly more interested in foreign policy than local residents.
Labels: Care charges, Council tax, Elderly, Foriegn policy in Lambeth, Labour Lambeth
posted by Cllr John Whelan on Thursday, February 15, 2007
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