Letter: I Am Happy to Give Credit to the Labour Party for the Council Tax Hike

Published on: 17 Feb, 2026
Updated on: 16 Feb, 2026

From George Potter

Lib Dem borough and county councillor

In response to: What the Lib Dems Did Not Mention About the GBC Budget

I would like to assure Mr Creese that the Lib Dems have made more noise about this (insomuch as that we made reference to it in the council debate), than Labour councillors have, given that they said nothing about the fact that we were getting increased funding to help us meet the existing burdens of deprivation.

Those burdens include the heavy level of services and support the council provides to the wards he mentioned (as well as Ash), including facilities like The Hive, and which GBC has provided year-in, year-out, even when the government hasn’t given us funding to match.

So perhaps, instead of turning his ire on the Lib Dems, Mr Creese might like to try asking his Labour councillors why they have so little to say in the council chamber?

In any event, it is worth noting that the increase in government funding was still significantly less than the increase in the cost of providing existing services, and that the funding settlement effectively forced councils to raise council tax by the legal maximum.

Does Mr Creese wish to claim credit on behalf of Labour for that too? Personally I’m more than happy to give his party credit for the council tax increase.

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