Not the first example of ‘carelessness’ over Council finances attributable to Stockport Lib Dems.
Claim: Lib Dems ‘Froze’ Council Tax while Labour are bringing in ‘biggest’ tax rises.
Reality: The Lib Dems were given grants to ‘freeze’ tax and voted for austerity, the cause of current rises.
The Lib Dems claim ignores the fact the Government provided a one off ‘Freeze grant’ to Councils during these years allowing them to do so. We do not have access to this grant, but must find money to make up for the £50million+ funding gap we have to plug over the next three years and the £100million gap faced since 2010.
This funding gap came about because of Austerity policies voted for by Liberal Democrats including Stockport Lib Dem Leader Mark Hunter in the Coalition Government of 2010-2015. The Lib Dems also worked with us on and voted for last year’s budget only to blame the rise they agreed solely on Labour, and their own rise the year before that was also the ‘biggest in a decade’ then, due to the Austerity they created.
For more on this see: http://stockportlabour.org.uk/budgetting-truth-101-by-stockport-lib-dems/ .
We expected leaflets from the Lib Dems from their budget antics, and that’s what we got. What we have not seen is any sniff of an alternative plan.
That right the Lib Dems have no plan for Stockport – unlike Stockport Labour’s 50-point manifesto.