Lambeth Liberal Democrats

Lib Dems launch Alternative Budget - Cheaper, Fairer, Greener

Lib Dems would freeze council tax levels

Liberal Democrats in Lambeth produced a fully-costed alternative budget that delivered a Council Tax freeze for the second year in a row AND defended vulnerable residents from Labour's savage attack on the voluntary sector and services to elderly or disabled people and their carers.

While Labour pushed through a 4.99% Council tax rise, one of the largest hikes in the capital and in doing so broke their election promise to peg rises to 3.25%, Lambeth Liberal Democrats' carefully costed budget demonstrated what a costly mistake letting Labour back in charge of finances really was.

While Lib Dems launched an all-out war against Labour's growing army of Spin Doctors, consultants and agency staff, Labour chose instead to carpet bomb services to pensioners, the sick and elderly and provoke a march of over 400 protesters.

Labour also blitzed motorists with a massive rise in Parking Permit Charges to rake in Millions when the Lib Dems argued that a truly environmentally sustainable scheme could and should have been revenue neutral. Lambeth Labour is apparently more red than green and chose instead to tax vehicles while they are stationary.

Labour made unnecessary cuts to pollution monitoring, street cleaning, highways inspections, and introduced new charges for bulky refuse collection and wheelie-bin replacement. Liberal Democrats had plans to reduce the Council's own carbon emissions, continue improving parks, plant street trees and boost recycling.

Lib Dems would have kick-started a forward-thinking library rebuilding programme whereas Labour's costly library closures have resulted in Lambeth losing one of its Audit Commission stars. We would have increased the book fund once again which has resulted in more visits and book loans in contrast to Labour's long history of cuts and the bizarre belief that libraries are 'old-fashioned.'

Liberal Democrats would have rolled-out wardens boroughwide to assist the police in the fight against crime and to work closely with local communities and hard-to-reach groups. Liberal Democrats would have boosted CCTV in known crime hotspots and provided lighting in excess of European basic standards where necessary.

Liberal Democrats would have built on the successful and award-winning Streatham Dip Shopfront Improvement scheme to rejuvenate run-down commercial areas across the borough and we would have devolved more money to Area Committees meeting in public to allow each Town Centre Area to develop local solutions to local problems. Labour's predictable answer? Scrap Area Committees and run everything instead in secret from the new refitted Labour wing of the Town Hall.

Liberal Democrats have produced a budget which has been accepted by Lambeth's Finance Officers as legal, just as we did every year when we were in opposition between 1998 and 2002. Labour never produced a single officially costed budget while in opposition between 2002-2006.

That distinct lack of rigour led them to make rash election promises they cannot keep now that they are running Lambeth. Remember, too, that they left office in 2002 with the Council's finances under special scrutiny by Government inspectors and auditors after years of waste and corruption had left Lambeth taxpayers reeling with over £1 Billion-worth of debt.

Whatever highly-paid Labour spin doctors choose to say, it was the Liberal Democrat-led administration of 2002-2006 that got Finance, along with Children's Services, and Town Planning, off Special Measures and dragged the Council up from a zero-rated Council to a 1-star Council and then a 2-star Council.

And it is our fully costed proposals, carefully chosen priorities and war on waste that enables us to present a prudent, fair and just 2007/2008 Budget that would also have contributed more to reserves than Labour's budget.

Lib Dem Budget Headlines

• Zero Council Tax increase
• No cuts to care services
• No cuts to voluntary sector
• No changes to care eligibility criteria
• Extra £3 million to reserves

Savings

• Slash consultants - Save £3.4 million
• Axe 40 spin doctors - Save £1.2 million
• Cut agency staff - Save £2.2 million
• Scrap Labour Allowances - Save 0.55 million
• Cut Town bureaucrats bureaucrats - Save 3.6 million