Council tax payers in Chelmsford town centre face a much higher council tax rise than in the areas with parish councils. The average increase in Chelmsford Borough's Council Tax is 2.9% but the unparished (town) area - some 40% of the Borough residents - will be hit by a massive 5.9% increase when most people have seen no increase in their incomes.
On Tuesday, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Folkestone and Hythe, Lynne Beaumont, took part in a debate on Student Tuition Fees at Canterbury College with NUS President Wes Streeting, Conservative candidate for Folkestone and Hythe Damian Collins and Jean Samuel, Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Canterbury and Whitstable. The opening speech from Lynne against Tuition Fees can be watched online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_1l1KbRhW4
Liberal Democrats in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead have welcomed the recent reduction in council tax, however they do not welcome the extra £17.4 million in Stealth Tax fees and charges that the Conservatives are taking form residents purses and wallets.
![Vince Cable [Photo: LDD Pics]](/fileadmin/_processed_/5/5/csm_vince-cable-photo-ldd-pics_a8e3e3f3df.png)
Commenting on George Osborne's widely reported recent lecture, Lib Dem Treasury Spokesman, Vince Cable has pointed to Mr Osborne's lack of understanding of the economy. Mr Cable who was formerly chief economist at Shell, is widely respected for having forecast the banking crisis.
Chesterfield MP Paul Holmes has welcomed official figures, uncovered by the Liberal Democrats, which show that around one in five workers in Chesterfield would no longer have to pay a penny of income tax under Liberal Democrat tax plans. Paul said, "Gordon Browns abolition of the 10p tax rate hit the poorest the hardest, Vince Cables tax plans would reverse this."
In a speech to the King's Fund, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has set out the party's respite care guarantee, providing a week's break from caring every year to the 1m unpaid carers who provide more than 50 hours care each week.