Responding to the news that Reading’s Labour politicians have lobbied Housing Minister Margaret Beckett for Government help to bring empty homes in Reading back into use, and to stop the disgraceful practice of council tenants’ rent being clawed back to the Treasury – two Liberal Democrat-led policies in Reading – the Liberal Democrats have welcomed Labour’s change of tack.
Lib Dem Housing Spokesperson Cllr Daisy Benson – who has led the empty homes campaign in Reading – said:
“It’s great news that, only TWO YEARS after the Lib Dems first raised the need for Labour-run Reading Borough Council to bring the many empty homes in the town back into use Labour politicians in Reading have finally got the message.
“Despite Labour agreeing to our call for an Empty Homes strategy, we are still waiting for the first empty property to be brought back into use through the Council. With the recession starting to bite, the need for the Council to work to make long-term empty homes available for families made homeless is now very urgent.”
Parliamentary Campaigner for Reading East, Cllr Gareth Epps added:
“We welcome any support for the Lib Dem campaign to scrap the scandal of the so-called “tenant tax” which sees part of council tenants’ rent clawed back into the Treasury’s coffers every year. Now more than ever the wealth of hard pressed residents in Reading must be safeguarded by the Labour Council.
“What is bizarre is that – only days ago – the Labour Leader of the Council refused to back the cross-party campaign run by councils aimed at stopping Labour’s tenant tax.”
Editor’ Notes:
The Government’s negative subsidy or “tenant tax” means that £4.5 million of Reading council rents – one pound in every five – is being taken by the Government into Treasury coffers. The amount taken has rocketed in the last three years.
Liberal Democrats have welcomed proposals from Reading Borough Council to convert the Council’s car pool into a Car Club.
The detailed proposals are to be considered on Wednesday 10th December at the Council’s Personnel Committee. This comes after the plan was revealed at last week’s Corporate, Community and External Affairs (CCEA) Scrutiny Meeting.
Gareth Epps, the leader of the Liberal Democrats on the Council said, “This will greatly boost car club provision in Reading and save the Council large amounts of money. We first proposed this to the Council in January and told them about the scheme operating in Bristol; car clubs were an important part of our manifesto for the May elections.”
“Car clubs benefit when their vehicles are used during the day. The proposal by the Council helps overcome this problem. It’s just the kind of initiative we want to see in Reading, given the traffic and parking problems in the town.”
Editor’s Note: Car clubs provide vehicles which are bookable by the hour by club members. They use the internet and advanced key fobs to manage access to the vehicles, and are often given special parking spaces in towns where the schemes operate.
The Government’s plans for new laws will do little to help hard-pressed families in Reading, claims a leading local Liberal Democrat.
The plans were outlined in the Queen’s Speech but disappointed Liberal Democrats say that the Government’s announcements will do very little to help people in Reading cope with the recession.
“The measures given in the Queen’s Speech are not enough to help people with the real problems we are now facing,” said Patrick Murray, Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson for Reading West.
“We need legislation to change the way energy tariffs work to make sure people get the cheapest prices for their essential fuel and power and changes to taxes to put money back in people’s pockets,” added Cllr Gareth Epps, Lib Dem Spokesperson for Reading East.
“With the massive discounts on offer in the shops at the moment, the short term trimming of VAT will make little difference and what we need is income tax cuts targeted at low earners and paid for through closing loopholes. Residents of Reading who are worried by the economic situation will find little comfort in this programme.
We need action to force the banks to lend money on fair terms to small businesses and families – and make it quite clear that if the banks cannot be made to act, the government will lend directly itself.
The Government wasted the opportunity to help people in last week’s Pre-Budget Report and now with the Queen’s Speech they are wasting it again.”
Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Gareth Epps took the unusual step last night of asking questions direct to Council Leader Cllr Jo Lovelock at the Council’s Cabinet meeting on the 1st December, in order to get Reading Borough Council to join dozens of other councils fighting Gordon Brown’s £4.5m negative subsidy – the “tenant tax” which takes an average of £600 a year from Reading council tenants.
Liberal Democrats believe the tax is revenge by the Labour Government on tenants who have voted to keep council housing public, despite obstacles put in the way of councils keeping control of their housing stock – a position which commands widespread support in Reading.
Responding on behalf of the Labour administration, Cllr Lovelock refused to back the campaigns, claiming that none of them backed a viable alternative to the negative subsidy system. Instead she said Labour wished to wait until after the outcome of a Government review of the housing subsidy process.
Cllr Gareth Epps said:-
“Labour’s answer simply isn’t good enough for Reading’s council tenants. It is, frankly, appalling that Reading’s Labour Council bosses are happy to stand by and see one pound in every five of council tenants’ rents stolen by the Treasury. Tenants should expect to see their rents go towards housing repairs locally. In a credit crunch, it is unacceptable that some of the poorest families in Reading are having money grabbed by the Labour Government in this way.”
Reading’s Council Tax payers could be in for a double whammy of big Council Tax rises and cuts in public services, as a perfect storm in the Council’s budget sets with a settlement from central Government that falls risibly short of meeting inflation, despite the Credit Crunch cutting a vast hole in Reading Council’s coffers. That is the scenario set by Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Gareth Epps.
The increase of only 1.75%, confirmed by central Government on 26 November, has been known of for some time, but the Labour Government has ignored the pleas of councils to cover funds lost due to the credit crunch. As the Lib Dems point out it adds to the black hole in Reading Council’s budget caused by the irresponsible 2008-09 Labour-Conservative budget, which kept Council Tax low in an election year but at a cost the Liberal Democrats now estimate at £2 million this year. With Council income short by over £10 million in other areas, and spending pressures elsewhere rising in areas such as social care, the Liberal Democrats slammed the old parties for the mess they have created.
Commenting to party members, Cllr Gareth Epps said:-
“The budget was irresponsible in February; it looks downright outrageous now. Labour’s one-off tax bribe, backed eagerly by the Tories and paid for by running down the Council reserves to levels even its own financial officers stated were unsustainable beyond the short-term, will contribute £2 million towards the black hole that now has to be filled.
Add to that a financial settlement they knew of then, which falls risibly short of meeting inflation on even the most basic of needs. Now, in the face of some Council income having dried up and a desperate review of capital projects, the Lab/Con ploy has failed. It was a tax con which will cost some people their jobs, cost everyone in higher Council Tax rises and could yet cost vulnerable people the services on which they rely.
Liberal Democrats will in the first place seek to avoid cuts to frontline public services. This is going to be a very difficult Budget. Reading people are fully entitled to know why.”
Reading West Lib Dems Parliamentary Spokesman, Patrick Murray, has criticised Martin Salter after his appearance on Newsnight defending the arrest of Damian Green.
“It is inconceivable that anyone can justify the actions of the Police in arresting a member of the Shadow Cabinet for holding ministers to account.
We can see the ugly underbelly of this increasing authoritarian Government, elected with only a quarter of the adult population’s support.
Salter has enthusiastically supported 42 days detention without trial which is an affront to the founding principles of the British state.
He has enthusiastically supported the expensive, intrusive and ineffective ID card scheme which will do nothing to stop terrorism as the Madrid bombings showed.
Now he is acting as the cheerleader for the arrest of political opponants.
His defence of, and enthusiasm for, an increasingly authoritarian government would be laughable if it weren’t so serious.”
Editor’s Notes:
Damian Green (an ex Reading School pupil) was arrested by the Metropolitan Police at his constituency home on 27 November 2008 for “aiding and abetting misconduct in public office”, in relation to an investigation into unauthorised disclosure of confidential material from within the Home Office.
Chris Huhne also says “Receiving information from Government departments in the public interest and publicising it is a key part of any MP’s role. This is the most worrying development for many years, with the potential to shift power even more conclusively from Parliament to the Government. It is also extraordinary considering Gordon Brown himself as Shadow Chancellor received and publicised many leaked official documents. It seems that either the law needs to be changed, or the police have overstepped the mark.”
