My week ahead 17 - 23 February 2013

Monday 18 February, 6pm – Labour Group meeting

Wednesday 20 February, 9am – Labour campaign day in East Ipswich

Thursday 21 February, 11am – Meeting about area committee at Grafton House
1pm – Youth football activity at Dumbarton Road

Saturday 23 February, 10.30am – Labour campaigning in South West Ipswich


This week we saw the Tory run Suffolk County Council inform us that they are not going to raise council tax this year but are also going to freeze the tax for the next 4 years – blatant electioneering!

Ipswich Spy has stated that I have taken the comments of Tory Cabinet member Cllr Storey out of context –
"most people don't use council services" so why should they pay council tax?

Ipswich Spy and a number of Tory bloggers have been critical – this is what Cllr Storey said “The majority of the Suffolk tax-paying population do not use our services – apart from roads and perhaps schools”

So only roads and schools? So 80% of Suffolk have their own home fire service? Of course we hope that very few of us need the Suffolk Fire service, but we sleep safe at night knowing the service is there. But will it be as an efficient service next year? – Let alone in 4 years’ time. To keep to a 0% tax rise for four years will mean more cuts (unless this Tory/Lib Dem Government are going to suddenly support local Government?? )

The budget this year will see a reduction in uniformed firemen, so how many more will we lose over the next 4 years – so Ipswich Spy and Cllr Storey – are roads and education the only council services that most tax payers use?

Most people do not use council services?

Yesterday Tory run Suffolk County Council, made their ‘big decision’ – as expected a 0% Council Tax rise for 2013/14 but then they went further and said that tax will be frozen for the next four years! At first you would think residents would be happy with this – but what about services?

How do they know what the Government will give them in grants over the next 4 years? We did not even know this year’s settlement till a few weeks ago. Of course the County is fortunate that they will not face the uncertainty caused by bedroom tax and benefit changes that District Councils will.

So will the County just drain the reserves over the next four years or is the truth that New Strategic Direction is still alive and that the County will continue to sell off/ close down and cut local services?

So we are at the bottom of league tables for Education, but Tory run Suffolk are not intending to increase education funding over the next four years?

Highways – the plan to hand over to Balfour Beatty is in pieces – but the County still know that extra funding for roads will not be needed?

Libraries – Community Groups are already struggling to find the £100,000 they need to keep the library service open – will there be even less county funding over the next four years?

Mobile Library service – down to just one stop in Ipswich (in Tory run Bixley ward) – sign of things to come?

But as leading Tory Suffolk county Council Jane Storey stated yesterday;

"most people don't use council services" so why should they pay council tax?


This epitomises Tory selfishness! So no residents drive on roads, walk on pavements, send their children to schools, call trading standards (horsemeat?), have elderly relatives in care homes?

Maybe we should just be glad that it is Borough and District Councils that empty our bins, look after council houses and even though it should be a County task – in Ipswich run the museum service.

They have decided on a 4 year council tax freeze – because they have an election in May – and are so happy with that they have sent a letter to Eric Pickles – to say ‘look at us, we are just like you’ – maybe they should write to another Tory Minister – Mr Gove – and tell him how they are going to improve education standards but at no extra cost to council tax payers!

Pembroke may no longer be leader, Andrea Hill may have gone, Mr Bee may be more PR savvy but that is just a smokescreen as Colin Noble, Judy Terry, and Guy McGregor are still pushing through the ‘New Strategic Direction’ and why not as Cllr Storey tells us – residents do not use council services!