Minister urges Tories and Labour to block council tax rise in Brighton and Hove

A government minister today urged councillors on all sides to freeze council tax for Brighton and Hove at the annual budget meeting tomorrow (Thursday 23 February).

Bob Neill, the Local Government Minister, called on Labour councillors to join his Conservative colleagues in voting down the Greens’ proposed 3.5 per cent rise.

All the indications are that the two parties will vote the same way and, as they outnumber the Greens, they are likely to force the administration to freeze council tax.

Brighton and Hove City Council leader Bill Randall can exercise a veto over the decision for seven days when councillors would have to vote again.

But both Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, the opposition Conservative group leader, and Councillor Gill Mitchell, the opposition Labour group leader, have repeatedly said that bills should not go up.

Mr Neill said: “It’s a serious mistake that the Green administration in Brighton and Hove is proposing.

“There’s a real obligation on councils to keep down the cost to council tax payers.

“Household budgets are being squeezed. The council tax is an important element.

“The Conservatives will be voting to freeze the council tax and I hope that Labour will put party considerations aside to protect the ratepayers.”

He criticised the Greens for turning down a £3 million government grant in exchange for freezing the level of council tax.

He said that Brighton and Hove would receive £104 million in formula grant alone, adding: “We adjusted the formula to make sure the needs element was increased in the weighting that it was given.

“When you look at the reduction of spending power for Brighton and Hove, what you’re looking at is a reduction of about 4 per cent.

“I don’t think it’s unreasonable. I don’t think it’s unmanageable.

“This money (the £3 million grant) gives them a bit of a breathing space although it can’t be granted for future years.”

He said that it allowed time for a redesign of services as the government tried to address the deficit and rein in public spending across the board.

He added: “I think Brighton and Hove are out on a bit of a limb on this.

He acknowledged that Surrey was one of about a dozen Conservative councils putting up council tax rather than taking the one-off grant to fund a freeze.

Mr Neill said: “We’ve been as critical of a Conservative authority like Surrey as we have been of Labour authorities or Brighton as a Green minority-run authority.

“It ought to be easier for a council like Brighton and Hove. Surrey has been cutting spending for years.

“This is a political decision by the Greens. They are a left-wing party and they’re a high tax and high spending party.

“High tax and high spending doesn’t always equate with better services.”

He said that there were lower spending councils in Sussex that were providing a good level of services.

But Band D council tax payers in Brighton and Hove, he said, could expect to pay about £74 more a year.

Mr Neill said: “I hate to see the residents of a great place like Brighton and Hove being penalised in this way.

“”If you’re someone on a fixed income, or struggling, that does make a difference.

“I think the Greens are being ideological and dogmatic about this.

“The majority of councils across the country are freezing council tax.

“Obviously it’s a local decision but the first duty of councillors is to protect the council tax payer.”