Conservatives Split Three Ways on Unitary Councils as Tory Squabbles Extend to Parliament

3.30.00pm GMT Thu 20th Mar 2008

Conservative splits on local government reorganisation for Bedfordshire are deepening, while Tory council tax hikes are set to hit local residents even harder

Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats have slammed the Conservatives' public in-fighting over the important issue of new unitary councils for Bedfordshire. This follows a letter in the local press from Tory Shadow Local Government Minister Bob Neill which contradicts both the squabbling Bedford Borough and Bedfordshire County Council Tory Groups by claiming re-organisation is 'unnecessary.'

Responding to the letter, Bedford Borough Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Michael Headley said:

"The Conservative shadow minister for local government makes some strange claims. He dismisses the reorganisation of local government as 'unnecessary' and 'a costly distraction.' Why he should do this after all the authorities actually involved locally agreed that restructuring was needed to make services more efficient for residents is unknown. Even the warring Tory groups on the different authorities agreed that single tier local government is needed, although they couldn't agree on much else while they squabbled publicly.'

"He then claims correctly that working families and pensioners are already suffering from punishing council tax hikes. He might have checked his facts before firing off his letter. It is the Tory administration at County Hall that is now charging the second highest county council tax level in the country. The same Conservatives on the County Council hardly helped to head off the unitary delay when they launched a legal action against the government's initial decision, at great cost to local taxpayers.'

"Meanwhile, the Conservative shadow minister's party is committed to retaining the unfair system of council tax which is 'punishing' pensioners and low earners severely. A local income tax based on the ability to pay, as proposed by the Liberal Democrats, is needed to save residents from council tax misery."