Liverpool’s Labour Party appears to have made a resolution to focus on negative attacks on the Green Party in 2013.
The “Come Clean” jibe is misplaced. The Green Party has been saying consistently that the council should be prepared to make a rise in council tax in order to protect vulnerable people from some of the cuts.
We have never said that council tax can fill the whole of the gap created by the coalition government’s savage cuts.
We are opposing the Mayor’s whole budget regime unless and until he is willing to call a referendum and ask the people of Liverpool to pay a bit more tax. Last year we did indeed propose a 4% tax increase which works out at about £1 per week for most households. But just last week, the Mayor brought in cuts to council tax benefit that will cost the poorest households approx £1.70 per week. We have doubts that people will be able to pay that money from jobseeker’s allowance of £71 per week. Will it really save money or just enrich the bailiffs?
We will propose an increase in council tax at the Budget Meeting of 6th March 2013 and it might be even more than 4%, but it will be nothing like the fantasy figure suggested by the Labour leaflet.
The previous posting explains our position.
