Local Government (Rates)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 6:27 pm on 6 February 1985.

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Photo of Dr Jack Cunningham Dr Jack Cunningham Shadow Secretary of State, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment 6:27, 6 February 1985

The hon. Gentleman should read the words of his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment who, in making his statement in December, and in the emergency debate the following day, was at least moved to concede that it is the councils' own money. If on nothing else, I agree with the Secretary of State on that point.

The Government are forcing local councils to be lenders and, on an increasing scale, using councils' own money to buttress the political aims and objectives of Government policy. That is another grotesque abuse of power, and one that will be totally destructive of local accountability. Just as the water industry is to be used as a tax collector for central Government, regardless of that industry's economies, and as with the gas and electricity industries, local government's financial control and freedom over its own money is to be removed. In pursuit of a manifestly failed economic policy, which is leading this country deeper into unemployment and despair, this Government choose scapegoats on all sides. Local government is a favourite target, but not one credible economic argument has been, or can be, advanced in favour of total control of councils' expenditure generated from their own resources.

The right hon. Gentleman made a number of claims about reductions in rates. As usual, he had nothing to say about the fact that it is widely recognised that the real reason why rates have increased by 141 per cent. since 1979 is because of Conservative policies, in particular the systematic reduction of rate support grant.

He also had nothing to say about the impact of the order on the quality and availability of services to the almost 10 million people who will be affected by it. He chose singularly to ignore the fact, in speaking of the authorities, that, despite his criticism of them, their local communities had voted for Labour administrations, and in some cases had consistently done so. The right hon. Gentleman is asking the House to bypass the political decisions of those communities.

Rates have gone up dramatically as a result of Government policy. All local authority associations say so and the Audit Commission says so in its report. Tory councillors say it, as do national newspapers such as the Financial Times, The Guardian and The Times. Only the right hon. Gentleman, his ministerial colleagues and a few trusty Back Bench supporters try to deny it.