Freeze Newcastle Council Tax in Newcastle upon Tyne (or not)

Information to help you decide on the merits of the Freeze Newcastle Council Tax campaign currently been promoted in Newcastle and supported by the Labour and Conservative parties

The Freeze Newcastle Council Tax Coalition mention on their blog that council tax for band D properties in Newcastle has risen by nearly £150 since the Liberal Democrats came to power.

This is indeed the case (the actual figure for the years 2004-05 to 2007-08 is £139) but, before signing the petition (and lending your support to Labour in local elections in May), you may want to see how this compares with the rises from the previous four years when Labour were in power.

The equivalent figure for the years 2000-01 to 2003-04 when Labour were running the city council is a rise of £229. This is because band D council tax in Newcastle rose by over 9% in 2003/4 and over 7% the previous year.

This is something that should be considered before suggesting that the current council are doing a bad job and suggests that any Labour claims about freezing council tax should be taken with a pinch of salt judging by their own past record.

These figures can be checked on the Department for Communities and Local Government web site on the link below.

http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/ctax/data/ctaxtimes.xls

Freeze  Council  Tax  in  Heaton  Newcastle  labour  Liberal  Democrats