UNLESS BROWN DELIVERS CASH FOR CAPITAL, COUNCIL TAX WILL RISE OR SERVICES WILL BE CUT

12.01.00am GMT Thu 2nd Dec 2004

Commenting ahead of the pre-Budget report later today when London will begin to discover what government grants it will receive from Chancellor Gordon Brown, and therefore how much Council Tax will have to rise or which services might be cut, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Budget Spokesperson, Sally Hamwee, said:-

"Unless Gordon Brown offers a genuinely better deal for London than in the past, then the capital will see more inflation busting Council Tax rises and more cuts in front line services.

"Over the last four years, Ken Livingstone has doubled his share of Council Tax. It is now time that Londoners saw more evidence of delivery and value for money. With the Mayor already promising inflation busting fare and Congestion Charge increases, and the cost of the living in the capital so high, the last thing London's hard-pressed taxpayers need is a large Council Tax rise to boot.

"Ministers should recognise that for the sake of six out of every seven households in London, the fair way forward is to axe the unfair Council Tax and for the Government to adopt a local Income Tax."

ENDS