At tonight’s budget council meeting councillors will set the budget for the upcoming financial year. Your Labour-run council has increased Council Tax by the maximum amount allowed for three out of the last four years, and tonight they plan to do it again, with another increase of almost 5%.
Additionally, the Labour Mayor of London has already said he will raise his precept by 4%, which is well above inflation and will push Council Tax bills even higher.
These tax increases mean that the average Band D Council Tax bill in Merton will now be £2,088.43. We believe this is poor value for money considering the standard of service we receive from the council, and the spiralling crime rates Mayor Khan has presided over.
Your Conservative councillors will oppose Labour’s planned Council Tax hike and are bringing forward an amendment that will give all residents on Council Tax Bands A-E a 1% Council Tax rebate, therefore lowering your bills and allowing you to keep more of your money.
Our amendment has been signed off by the council’s legal officers and is desperately needed after the Labour government’s policies and Labour council’s tax hikes have led to higher prices for Merton residents.
Conservative councillors will be fighting your corner tonight at the budget council meeting by putting forward solutions to deal with the real challenges Merton faces, instead of virtue signalling and trying to blame others, which sadly is the approach taken by the left-wing parties in Merton.
Our amendment also seeks to set out a series of binding principles for better local government in Merton and a council that is focused on its residents rather than leftwing causes.
We want a firm commitment from the council to oppose any pay per mile scheme, forge ahead with regeneration across the borough, secure the future of all Police Stations in Merton and establish a new Met Police base in Morden, as well as reforming the Council Tax Support Scheme which currently uses up 8.4% of all Council Tax revenue each year.
Additionally, local Conservatives are prioritising active and sustainable travel, technology led solutions to combat the pollution crisis in Merton and remove harmful emissions from the air, a new partnership with business to improve the lives of our school children, and support for adult day care centres.
Tonight, we will speak up for local residents and promote better solutions to the challenges faced in Merton.
We hope all councillors will be able to support us.
