Conservatives Call For Council Tax Freeze

Southampton Conservatives are calling for council tax to be frozen for a 3rd year running. The government has made available £800,000 this year to support Southampton in keeping council tax down, yet Labour are proposing turning the cash down and instead raising council tax by 2%.

Today we heard that Southampton is set to receive an additional £5.8M from government this year. This is money can be used to protect front line services that are under threat from the Labour run council. Southampton Conservatives are saying that with extra funding from government there is no excuse for key services to be cut and local taxes hiked up by Labour.

"The lunatics are now in charge of the asylum"

Southampton City Council faces huge challenges in the years ahead. It must save £30M to balance the books next year alone. This is a big task, if at the same time Council Tax is to be kept down for residents who are already struggling with the rising cost of living, and services that are important to local people are to be protected.

The outgoing Conservative Administration understood this and for the past 5 years we have met these challenges head on. In our last 2 years we had to find £45M of savings and we did this whilst freezing council tax and protecting services to residents; like the weekly bin collections, Sure Start centres, libraries, leisure centres, supported bus routes, and at the same we were able to put more money into repairs to the roads and pavements and into looking after at risk children and vulnerable adults. We also kept council job cuts to the minimum and went all out to attract employment and business to the city.

We achieved all of this because we had a clear sense of direction, were prepared to make difficult decisions but be pragmatic where necessary. Most importantly we were honest and we never made a promise that we did not keep.

Labour by contrast, desperate for power, have promised the earth, but have no strategy to deal with the problems ahead. It is sadly inevitable that we now face several years of Labour tax hikes, service cuts and job cuts and that we will see them break one promise after another, letting down voters, users of council services, council staff and even their union backers.

Labour’s very first decision in office was to create, at taxpayers’ expense, extra jobs for their councillors, new committees and chairmanships. At any time this would be unsavoury and nepotistic but in the current financial climate it shows spectacularly bad judgement. It only adds to the financial difficulties of the City Council, meaning that more service cuts, job cuts and tax rises must be endured. But it highlights something even more worrying – that Labour still don’t get it and that they are still in denial about the state of the council’s finances.

Labour need to very quickly wake up, show some political maturity and urgently get in place some sort of plan. They need to start being honest with themselves and more importantly with the residents of Southampton. For the city’s sake I hope that this happens soon.

My fear is that it won’t and that as one constituent of mine put it in an email to me on the day after the elections, “the lunatics are now in charge of the asylum.”

Council Tax Should be Frozen for Southampton Residents

Southampton City Council and now Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service have said that they will be freezing their share of the Council Tax bill in 2012/13.

The Hampshire Police Authority is due to set its budget next Tuesday and I am calling for it to freeze Council Tax too.

Southampton residents should not have to pay a penny more in Council Tax in the coming year and with everyone struggling with bills and the cost of living and with the government offering an extra grant to help freeze council tax, any increase is totally unjustifiable.

I will be voting for a freeze on Tuesday and I hope I will have the support of all the other Police Authority Members.

Conservative Budget Will focus on Protecting Council Services

Today the council released its draft budget for 2012/13. The council's financial situation is extremely challenging and next year £15M must be saved to balance the books.

Conservative Councillors are focused on ensuring that front line services are protected. This means keeping all our Sure Start Centres, leisure centres, libraries and other community facilities open. It means protecting the road and pavement repairs budget and protecting the vital bus routes that the council supports. And it means ensuring more support for the most vulnerable children in the city. I am very pleased that in my area of responsibility, Childrens' Services and Learning, there are no service reductions planned.

It is important that in these difficult times we keep costs down for local people. We have committed to freezing the council tax again and are keeping the 10% discount for pensioner households. We are ensuring that other charges like parking charges are frozen.

An important priority for Conservatives on the council is keeping front line council staff in work, delivering the services that residents pay their taxes for. We recently changed staff terms and conditions and this saw some pay cuts for higher paid staff. This was done to protect jobs and services and we are sticking to our commitment to protect 400 council jobs. Next year's budget will keep compulsory redundancies as low as possible, likely to be less than 50.

This is all in stark contrast to Labour in Southampton, who have said that their plans involve big increases in council tax, of at least 4.5%, the axing of 1,500 council jobs and the serious damage this would mean to front line council services.

Conservatives to Freeze Council Tax for a Second Year

Residents in Southampton will have no increase in council tax next year. This will be the second year running that council tax has been frozen.

The Conservatives went into the last election saying we would freeze council tax for two years and I am delighted that we are keeping to this commitment. We are all feeling the pinch at the moment and this will definitely help.

The Conservative freeze in council tax in Southampton is in stark contrast to Labour's last term in office locally. Few will forget their 19% increase in their last year. Labour have made it very clear that if they run the council again residents will face big increases in their council tax bill. Labour have also pledged to scrap the council tax discount for city pensioners, meaning even bigger rises for pensioner households.

Labour Plans Huge Council Tax Rise for Southampton

Labour run Manchester council are slashing front line services and closing community facilities like libraries and swimming pools. They are taking advantage of the financial crisis to make unpopular decisions and then blame the coalition government to score political points.

In Southampton the Labour Party refused to say what their plans would be if they ran the city. But we can be sure that they too would pursue the same cynical tactics; closing facilities and making the cuts as painful as possible.

In the last year that Labour ran Southampton City Council they hiked up council tax by a massive 18.5% and they have made it clear, that if they win the council elections in May, they will hike up council tax again; meaning rises of £300 or more a year.

By contrast, despite facing the toughest set of finances ever, Conservative run Southampton City Council is doing its utmost to protect front lines services and keep costs down for local residents.

In Southampton council tax will be frozen for the first time ever and care charges and parking charges won’t go up at all.All our swimming pools, leisure centres, Sure Start centres and libraries will stay open. In fact we will even be opening a new Library in the middle of the Millbrook estate.

More money will be spent repairing roads and pavements and looking after vulnerable children. This is all possible because we are tackling bureaucracy, stripping out layers of top management and getting better deals from suppliers.

We are also asking higher paid council staff to take a small pay cut whilst ensuring a pay rise for the lower paid. Those earning the most will have to take the biggest reduction. Labour instead want pay rises for those earning £70,000, £80,000 and even £100,000 a year and want big council tax rises, in particular on pensioner households, to pay for it. Some households could face over £400 more in council tax next year under Labour.

There is a clear choice at the local elections the May; a Conservative Party determined to protect services, keep council tax down and get the city through these tough times and a cynical Labour party dominated by the union bosses and hell bent on service cuts and crippling council tax rises to make their political points.

Conservatives Freeze Council Tax

Today Conservative Councillors took the decision to freeze council tax in Southampton, for the coming year, ensuring that for the first time ever, residents will face no increase in council tax.

Southampton Special Constables to be exempt from Council Tax

I am pleased that last week the City Council approved a new scheme to help the Police recruit more Special Constables in the city. From April residents who live in Southampton and who volunteer as Specials to help police the local streets will be exempt from playing council tax.

I am delighted that after a three year long campaign the scheme will be up and running in a few months time.

When I knock on doors and meet people, time and time again I am told that we need more police on the streets. The numbers of Special Constables has halved since 1997 and it is hoped that this new initiative will double number in Southampton.

Low Council Tax and Better Roads and Pavements

That’s what local people tell me they want the City Council to Focus on.

- Local Conservatives have achieved a below inflation council tax increase at 2.5% - the lowest in the city’s history.

- The roads budget inherited from the Lib Dems has been doubled and a further £700,000 has been allocated to tackle the damage from the winter weather.

- £6m of efficiency savings have been indentified, including saving hundreds of thousands of pounds in council communications.

The impact of the recession and chronic under funding of the city by government makes it very difficult for the council to make ends meet. However many people are struggling at the moment and we need to ensure that we keep taxes down while still protecting services.

Shadow Minister Backs Campaign for Council Tax Freeze

Shadow Local Government Minister, Bob Neil MP meets with local Conservatives

Shadow Minster Bob Neil MP paid a visit to Southampton today to meet with local councillors and council officers. Conservatives have pledged to freeze council tax for two years if we win the next election. Mr Neil explained how this would mean extra funding for Southampton from a Conservative Government to keep council tax down. Mr Neil explained that extra money would also be available for Southampton where new homes are built locally and where new businesses are created.

Conservatives Keep Council Tax Pledge

Conservatives are sticking to an election pledge to keep council tax under the rate of inflaion. This year’s council tax rise will be the lowest in the history of the council at 2.94%.

It has been a challenging year for Southampton. We are faced with the backdrop of worst recession in recent times, a miserly funding settlement from the government and falling income revenue and investment revenues.

Chronic underfunding from the Government means that the city council faces huge budgetary pressures each year. We face cuts in real terms to the funding received from central government. The dismal financial settlement means added pressure on the council tax and on local residents.

When the Southampton Conservatives took office in May we were faced a budget blackhole of over 13m. We have been working harder to deliver more for less. In the last year we identified over £11m of efficiencies and savings.

As well as balancing the books, by prioritising and redirecting spending we will also invest millions of pounds more in front line services, such as schools, road repairs and the city’s infrastructure, improving street lighting and safety, safeguarding vulnerable children and reducing the financial burden on pensioners.

A Two Year Council Tax Freeze

Southampton along with the rest of the South East is chronically underfunded by central Government, with a disproportionate amount of the taxes we pay being transferred to the North of England.

Locally whilst Southampton’s Labour MPs have defended the situation and refused to stand up to Gordon Brown, the Conservatives have campaigned for a fairer deal for the city.

Council Tax has more than doubled under Labour in the last 11 years. Locally we all remember the 18% hike of the last Labour City Council administration.

I was therefore delighted to hear the announcement at our October party conference, that an incoming Conservative government would freeze council tax for 2 years, saving families in Southampton around £200 and providing an extra £4m of government funding for the city.


Other Conservative policies to help with the rising cost of living:

HELP AT THE PUMPS
We will introduce a Fair Fuel Stabiliser - when fuel prices go up, fuel duty would fall.

HELP FOR FAMILIES
As we save money on wasteful welfare, we will abolish Labour's couple penalty in the tax credits sysetem - giving 1.8 million couples an extra £2,000 a year.

HELP FOR FIRST TIME-BUYERS
We will permanently abolish Stamp Duty for first-time buyers on purchases up to £250,000 - nine out of ten first-time buyers will pay no Stamp Duty at all, saving an average of £2,000 each.

HELP WITH YOUR BILLS
We will cut the energy and gas bills of up to four million people by £100 by reforming Post Office Accounts to allow families without bank accounts to access cheaper tariffs.

HELP FOR MOTORISTS
We will oppose Labour's new tax on family cars, which will hit 1 million owners of family cars bought up to 7 years ago with tax rises of up to £250.

A Week In Politics

It has been a busy and eventful week in Southampton Politics. My casework post bag gone up considerably since the start of the year and there is lots going on in the city.


Council Tax

On Wednesday the BBC ran a story on how across the country council tax is set to rocket again this year as local councils continue to face cut backs in funding from the government. I did an interview on the Ten O'clock News and was able to highlight how Southampton, being in the South of England, is suffering in particular from government underfunding.

One area where Southampton is under severe financial pressure is over the issue of the national concessionary bus fares scheme due to come in on 1st April. This was announced by Gordon Brown as a pre election sweetener just before the 2005 General Election. The government promised the fund the free travel scheme but has since gone back on its pledge and is trying to shift the costs to the local council tax payer. In Southampton the shortfall in funding could be up to £1m or more (about 1.5% on council tax!)


Hill Lane Toucan Crossing

I went along to the public meeting regarding the possible Toucan crossing at Raymond Road / Hill Lane. From the conversations that I had people seemed to be broadly in favour. One issue that lots of people raised was the need to improve cycle paths around the city. If the Hill Lane crossing is popular and goes ahead then there is the opportunity to link up a cycle path through the common to the Avenue, and then up to Wilton Road and King Edwards School.


St Mark's School

I went along to the St Mark's school governors meeting on Tuesday evening to talk with them about the the council's plans to purchase the Civil Service Sports Ground in Stafford Road and also about the primary school review which is about to start in the city.


Promoting the City's Art

On Thursday I went to a reception at the civic centre art gallery, organised by Business Southampton. The new Conservative administration is looking to expand the council's art lease scheme, where works of art are loaned out to offices, private collectors and other galleries. The art gallery has far more paintings than it can hope to display and so this is an opportunity to display the art and also generate some income which can be used to meet the costs of the gallery and promote art and local artists in the city.

Value For Money For Southampton

Yesterday Southampton Conservatives released details of budget proposals for the city council for the coming year.

Despite the chronic underfunding of Southampton by the government the Conservatives are keeping our promise to deliver a real terms reduction in council tax.

A Fair Deal for the Taxpayer

Conservatives are proposing the lowest council tax increase in Southampton's history as a unitary council authority at 2.99%. This is being achieved against the backdrop of real terms cuts in funding for Southampton from the government and through much greater local efficiency.

A fair deal for pensioners

Proposals by the Conservatives include a renewed commitment to introduce a 10% discount for households of over 65. In the past ten years council tax has more than doubled under Labour and those on the basic state pension are increasingly finding their real incomes being eroded.

Backing the Police

Conservatives are pushing ahead with plans to scrap council tax for special constables in the city. Since 1997 the numbers of specials has halved. Locally the police have welcomed and backed the move as means for putting more community police on the streets and cutting crime in the city.

A fair deal for Bus Users

Budget proposals include the introduction of a local concessionary bus fares scheme for over 60s and disabled people to cover the reductions in eligibility and travel times in the government's national concessionary scheme. Click HERE for further details.

Listening to residents

Revised budget proposals follow three months of consultation and discussions with residents and community groups. In fact over 1000 people responded to the consultation and the vast majority of their concerns have been addressed in revised proposals.

More money to vital services

This includes:

• An extra £745k pa for road repairs
• An extra £1.2m pa for adult care
• Extra money supporting children in care and to support foster carers
• Extra local money to support people with alcohol problems
• Additional funds to support more sport in schools
• More support to residents' associations
• A range of measures to improve the local environment, recycling and energy efficiency
• More money to reduce youth offending in the city

Full details of Conservative budget proposals can be found HERE.

Lincoln Conservatives Win Battle To Cut Council Tax for Pensioners

Tomorrow Southampton Councillors will be debating the Conservative proposal a for pensioner council tax discount.

I was interested to read that a similar battle of ideas has just taken place in Lincoln where the Conservative run council, in the teeth of Labour opposition, has won approval for a similar scheme. Click HERE to read the story in the Lincolnshire Echo. In Lincoln Labour were pushing more more taxation and more means testing. I am feeling a strong sense of deja vu!

The First 100 Days of Conservative Administration

Today is day 100 for the new Conservative administration on Southampton City Council. The Conservatives took minority control of the council following the May local elections which saw the Conservatives top the poll across the city and form Southampton's first Conservative Council in 23 years.

Since May the new administration has been working tirelessly to improve the city and modernise the city council.

An enormous amount of hard work has been done in the past 100 days and the new administration has not shied away from taking bold decisions.

We have brought the secondary education review to a successful close. £5m has been awarded to secondary schools across the city and an education charity, Oasis, has been appointed to run two new city academies, a move which will attract £50m of investment.

Four years of discussion over the future of council support services such as IT, property and customer services has been ended and the Council has signed a £290m agreement with Capita to deliver these services over the next ten years. The partnership will transform and modernise these services, attracting over £25m of private investment, saving the tax payer millions of pounds, whilst securing jobs and creating the prospect of new employment in the city.

The uncertainly over the future of Eastpoint has been brought to an end and a decision taken to help facilitate Itchen College's move to the site.

We have got to grips with the appalling state of the roads. The Lib / Lab legacy is a backlog of more than £500m in roads and pavements repairs! It is not going to be possible to find the money for this overnight but a strategy is being put in place to bring much greater investment into the roads.

The new administration is sticking to its election commitments. A pensioner council tax discount will be introduced next year. Tackling crime and disorder is a top priority for the administration and Council tax will be scrapped for Southampton people who sign up to become special constables in the city, to help make our streets safer. Free bus nation wide bus travel for seniors will be rolled out in April.

A citywide energy strategy is being put in place to make Southampton a greener city and to tackle carbon emissions over the next 20 years.

Policies are being finalised to protect family housing in the city.

Daft policies such as the laser lights have been scrapped and we put forward our own suggestion for a wow factor in the form of a bronze spitfire on the roundabout by the DeVere; a proposal which attracted overwhelming public support. We are also progressing our plans to build a city heritage centre in the west wing of the civic centre, to celebrate the titanic and the city's trams. We will insure the city's £150m art collection which was scandalously put at risk by previous administrations. We will also ensure that this wonderful treasure is not left gathering dust in the civic centre basement. We are committed to delivering an ice rink as soon as we can strike the right deal with a provider and agree the site.

Major city developments are being pushed ahead. Carnival is on site and a planning application will soon go in for the redevelopment of Northern Above Bar.

We will be bring forward our draft budget proposals in October this year so that there can be a full public discussion before the city sets its final budget in February. We know that unpopular decisions may have to be made but by bringing up issues early we will enable true consultation and then hopefully make the best decisions for the city.

All this is being achieved against a backdrop of chronic under funding of Southampton by the Government. We are lobbying hard for Southampton to receive its fair share but of late much of the money has been given to local authorities in the north of England.

Only 100 days have so far passed but decisions are being taken, and the ground work is being laid for a bright future for Southampton.

New Cabinet Appointed

Newly elected Council Leader, Alec Samuels has announced his Cabinet. The cabinet will be made up of members of the conservative party.

Leader: Cllr Alec Samuels
Economic Development and Regeneration: Cllr Royston Smith
Resources: Cllr Jeremy Moulton
Workforce planning: Cllr Terry Matthews
Children’s Services and learning: Cllr Peter Baillie
Adult Care and health: Cllr Ivan White
Environment & Transport: Cllr Gavin Dick
Housing & Neighbourhoods: Cllr Phil Williams
Leisure and Culture: Cllr John Hannides

Southampton Goes Blue!

Southampton Conservative Councillors have formed their administration since 1984

Southampton Councillors met formally for the first time yesterday after the local council elections on 3rd May.

At the meeting of Full Council, the Conservatives took political control of Southampton City Council, forming their first administration in 23 years.

Southampton has been in a state of political "no over all control" since 1999 and since then Labour and then the Lib Dems have run minority administrations. Yesterday Conservatives formed a minority administration with 18 councillors. This means that whilst the Conservatives will have more influence than at any point since 1984 and will control all the Executive functions of the Council, the other political parties will be able to gang up and defeat the Conservatives over major policy issues.

Click HERE for the Daily Echo report.

99 Tax Rises

Gordon Brown is due to set his 11th Budget on Wednesday.

If he remains true to form we can expect to set to see his 100th tax rise.

Since 1997 Gordon Brown has raised tax 99 times, mostly by stealth. Here is a list of all the tax hikes he has imposed over the years.


1997
1. Mortgage interest relief cut
2. Pensions tax (payable tax credits abolished)
3. Health insurance taxed (income tax relief abolished)
4. Health insurance taxed again (IPT)
5. Fuel tax escalator up
6. Vehicle Excise Duty up
7. Tobacco duty escalator up
8. Stamp duty up for properties over £250,000
9. Limit carry back of trading losses to one year
10. Dividends on trading assets
11. Taxation of finance leasing
12. New Windfall Tax on utilities
13. Futures and options
14. VAT: cash accounting scheme
1998
15. Married couple’s allowance cut
16. Tax on travel insurance up
17. Tax on casinos and gaming machines up
18. Fuel tax escalator brought forward
19. Tax on company cars up
20. Tax relief for foreign earnings abolished
21. Tax concession for certain professions abolished
22. Capital Gains Tax imposed on certain non-residents
23. Reinvestment relief restricted
24. Corporation Tax payments brought forward and ACT abolished
25. Higher stamp duty rates up
26. Some hydrocarbon duties up
27. Additional diesel duties
28. Landfill Tax up
29. Exceptional increase in tobacco and alcohol duties
30. Amendments to offshore trusts
31. VAT: fuel scale charges
1999
32. NIC earnings limit raised
33. NICs for self-employed up
34. Married Couple’s Allowance abolished
35. Mortgage tax relief abolished
36. IR35: Taxation of personal services companies
37. Company car business mileage allowances restricted
38. Tobacco duty escalator brought forward
39. Insurance Premium Tax up
40. Vocational Training Relief abolished
41. Employer NICs extended to all benefits in kind
42. VAT on some banking services up
43. Premiums paid to tenants by landlords taxed
44. Duty on minor oils up
45. Vehicle Excise Duties for lorries up
46. Landfill tax escalator introduced
47. Higher rates of stamp duty up again
48. Capital gains on sale of companies
49. Controlled Foreign Companies: taxation of dividends
2000
50. Tobacco duties up
51. Higher rates of stamp duty up again
52. Extra taxation of life assurance companies
53. Rules on Controlled Foreign Companies extended
54. Aggregates levy increased
55. Changes to double taxation relief
56. Rent factoring
57. Capital gains tax: use of trusts and offshore companies
58. VAT: capital asset disposals
2001
59. Controlled foreign companies regime
2002
60. Personal allowances frozen
61. National Insurance threshold frozen
62. NICs for employers up
63. NICs for employees up
64. NICs for self-employed up
65. North Sea taxation up
66. Tax on some alcoholic drinks up
67. New stamp duty regime
68. New rules on loan relationships
69. Taxation of foreign company UK branches
2003
70. VAT on electronically supplied services
71. IR35 applied to domestic workers
72. Betting duty change
73. Tax on red diesel and fuel oil up
74. Controlled Foreign Companies measures on Ireland
75. Vehicle excise duty up
76. VAT: on continuous supplies
77. VAT: on privately operated tolls
78. Treatment of options for the purposes of tax on chargeable gains
79. Landfill tax increased
2004
80. Minimum 19% tax rate on distributed profits
81. Transfer pricing and thin capitalisation
82. Increase in rate of tax on trusts
83. Increase in tax on red diesel fuel
84. Increase in tax on other road fuels (including LPG)
85. VAT: transfers of going concern
86. Insurance premium tax: Changes to GAP insurance
87. Taxation of life companies
88. Foreign earnings deduction for seafarers
89. Construction industry scheme
2005
90. Stamp duty land tax: ending commercial disadvantaged areas relief
91. Increase in North Sea corporation tax
92. Further increase in tax on red diesel
93. Increase in taxation of leasing
94. Company car tax up
2006
95. Further changes to oil valuation for tax purposes
96. Stamp duty land tax: ending relief for initial transfers into unit trusts
97. Removal of income tax exemption for loaned computers
98. North Sea Oil tax increased
99. Air Passenger Duty doubled

Make Your Home Greener and Save Money!

ConservativeHome carries this story on possible Conservative proposals for reductions in Council Tax for people who have energy efficient homes.

It's very important to use carrots as well as sticks in trying to create a greener environment.

Policies need to be simple though. There is no point if it means creating huge amounts of bureaucracy.