Hackney’s Labour council, led by Mayor Jules Pipe, has voted to make it even harder for struggling residents to make ends meet – by rejecting a Conservative proposal to cut Council Tax by 2 per cent.

The annual budget for the borough was set at a council meeting on 4th March, further tightening the squeeze on those who are least able to afford it.

Reacting to the plans, leader of the Council’s Conservative group commented:

“Labour have driven the country into recession and now in Hackney they’re attacking the families and businesses that are suffering the most.

They’ve only managed to freeze the Council Tax by ramping up other charges and transferring costs to Council tenants and leaseholders.

Nearly half a million pounds of waste collection costs are now going to be met exclusively  by Council tenants and leaseholders, rents will go up by 6.2% and service charges by 5.5% and charges to shops and other local businesses by a massive 22%.

Conservative proposals would have seen a 2% reduction in Council Tax, more spending on youth clubs and the setting up of reserves to fund the re-opening of Haggerston pool and to help local businesses through the recession.  These proposals, rejected by Labour councillors, would have been funded by cutting Town Hall “policy” and “communications” officers and scrapping the propaganda sheet “Hackney Today” with no impact on services to residents.

Indeed, we would also have diverted spending on Olympics-related spin into a programme to assist local businesses affected by the recession and into re-opening Haggerston pool and we found an additional £75,000 to spend on youth services.”

Labour’s spending priorities, opposed by the Conservatives, include spending an additional £51,000 on Public Relations to improve the image of the worst performing directorate within the Council: Neighbourhoods and Regeneration (streets, markets, planning, trading standards etc).

They also want to spend an additional £50,000 on improved lighting and sound systems for the “Ocean” the Mare Street “white elephant”  that recently hosted a “beer festival” but is otherwise used as a meeting space for Council officers.

Categories: Councillors
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