Mike Cox's Leader's Column - March 2009

5.39.47pm GMT Mon 23rd Mar 2009

Times are tough there is no doubt of that. So the Council freezing the Council tax for 2 years is good news. However if they can do that why not reduce it this year? The answer is simple. Next year there will be an election so the Conservative cabinet want to store up some incentive to vote for them.

There could be other explanations. We still have £20 million still stuck in 2 Icelandic banks. One of these banks has just reported it has £2 billion shortfall. I don't think we will be seeing much of that money back.

The projected savings needed next year are eye watering especially given that the needs of the old and vulnerable will only increase and local residents and businesses will need to be supported like never before.

If the Liberal Democrats had any say in the budget we would have slashed £1m of the budget by reducing Councillors allowances, cutting the pay of senior directors and bonuses, and slashing the PR budget. Additional spending would have gone on helping people through the current crisis and sorting out the plague of potholes that have sprung up.

It would have been nice to debate these suggestions but in the 3 minutes we are given to speak any debate on the budget is cut to minimum. Instead we had the sceptical of individual recorded votes on every increase in Councillors allowance. We spent longer recording pointless votes than discussing a billion pound budget. A sad reflection on the depths Hillingdons' politics has plummeted.