South Oxfordshire council tax bills bite

5.14.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 30th May 2008

Record council tax bills from local Conservative-run councils are hitting local people hard. Above inflation council tax rises have become all too common under the Conservatives, despite their past election promises to cut council tax.

Now with rising fuel, energy and food prices, council tax bills are hurting even more.

Lib Dem campaigner Stephen Kearney said:

"Those on fixed incomes like pensioners are feeling the pinch hardest of all. The rise in the basic pension this year was only £3.40 a week. That is very quickly wiped out by rising prices and council tax bills."

Local people in South Oxfordshire are paying much more in council tax than residents in the nearby Lib Dem run Vale of White Horse. Henley constituency campaigner Stephen Kearney said:

"Residents are right to ask why bills are so high here especially when services could be better? People have also had to put up with extra charges from the Conservative-run council to take away garden waste."