Past press releases

PRESS RELEASE: 10 October 2005

"Can you believe a word he says?"

Speaking after today's Council Cabinet meeting, she said, "The Tory Group Leader really should know better by now. I appreciate that he needs time to gain experience, and local government finance is complicated, but to suggest that next year's increase in Council Tax is likely to be 27% beggars belief. This is irresponsible scaremongering, designed to frighten South Norfolk's residents."

Cllr Trevor Lewis, who holds the Cabinet's Resources portfolio, added "I would have expected John Fuller to have learnt from his experience last year, when he ended up with egg on his face after predicting a 20% increase, which ended up at less than 4%. He doesn't yet seem to have caught on to the process of budgeting, where we begin by looking at worst-case scenarios and over a period of months analyse and discuss what can be afforded in the light of predicted grants from government. His approach is like that of a ship builder looking at a steel sheet and saying 'it'll never float'. The politest thing you can say about it is that it's naive in the extreme."

He continued, "When we took control of this Council in 1995, we had to clear up the results of more than 20 years of Tory under investment in South Norfolk. We now have lower than average Council Tax in South Norfolk. We intend to keep it that way."

ENDS