Reading Liberal Democrats

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.”