WOKING LIBDEMS HOLD COUNCIL TAX RISE TO INFLATION

The Liberal Democrat Budget, with a Council Tax increase of 4.4% (less than the Conservative administration last year, and only just above inflation), was passed by Woking Council on Thursday 22 February by 18 LibDem votes to 13 Tories. One Tory (Cllr Val Tinney) and the three Labour Councillors

abstained.

Speaking after the debate, LibDem Deputy Leader Cllr Philip Goldenberg commented: "It was really quite extraordinary. Here are Woking Tories offering the public an alternative administration in this year's local elections, but they can't even offer an alternative Budget. They just produced woolly (and often contradictory) whinges about ours. To borrow a phrase, it was like being savaged by a collection of dead sheep.

"But the Tories are in a difficult situation. Having falsely alleged that we would put up Council Tax by 25% (4.4%, actually), raid reserves (we didn't) and make massive service cuts like their colleagues trying to run Surrey County Council (we didn't), it was impossible for them to put together an effective criticism of the LibDem success."