For months, residents in Wokingham Borough and around the country had been waiting for the next Labour Government Budget with a sense of dread. Little did we realise how bad it would turn out to be. The Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Finance however thought it would be wonderful for Council funding and said as much, how wrong she was.
Taxes increasing by billions of pounds. Public spending spiralling out of control. Government debt rising with ever more money spent on just repaying interest. Economic growth forecast to be down every year for the rest of the decade. Inflation and unemployment both higher than under the Conservative Government.
This has been nothing short of a disaster. Income tax thresholds are being frozen, meaning that people will see an effective tax increase on average of £600. Hard-pressed families will see less money coming in at the end of the month in real terms, pensioners too, if they depend on anything more than the State Pension for income.
Labour’s budget will have a particular impact for people living in the Borough. As if Council Tax wasn’t high enough, the Government’s cuts to WBC’s funding will mean our Council tax next year will increase without us gaining any benefit. At the same time, they are introducing an additional Council Tax charge on so-called ‘high-value’ homes. This affects our area more where house prices have skyrocketed over a number of decades, many times beyond what was originally paid for them and bearing no relation to owners’ income. However, the income from this extra charge is going straight to Central Government, not to the Council.
Even the Council itself isn’t protected from the Budget. The Minimum Wage is increasing, that cost will increase your bills. At the same time, there is a £6 billion gap in the Government’s funding for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) funding for schools, that is meant to be provided to councils. The Government has said it will meet the full cost of SEND provision, but they have not been clear what this actually means. Will other forms of funding to councils be cut, or will Labour increase taxes again next year to provide more money?
Honesty and trust are important in public life. Yet in a staggeringly short space of time Labour have left a wasteland of broken promises caused by the Budget. Their manifesto promised not to raise taxes, but that’s exactly what they’ve done – twice. They promised not freeze income tax thresholds, but they have. Rachel Reeves promised last year there wouldn’t be a repeat of 2024’s eye-watering tax increases, but she’s done it again. Labour promised not to undertake a Council Tax revaluation, but are doing just that as part of their extra Council Tax charge.
Rachel Reeves stood in front of the country telling us the Government’s financial situation was dire and would need to result in tax rises. We now know this wasn’t true, and the ‘black hole’ leading to taxes increasing is a result of Labour choosing to increase spending on benefits.
The Conservatives nationally are working hard to oppose the Labour Government, and we’re working to lobby our local Labour MP to stand up for Wokingham Borough. While Labour chooses to hike taxes and spend money on the wrong priorities, the Conservatives are on your side.
By Cllr Pauline Jorgensen
