Council 'democracy dodgers' will be punished, warns Pickles

Rochdale Borough Council's determination to ‘cheat’ the system to force up council tax bills without the backing of local people is to be punished by the government.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles warned they must ‘be straight with people’ and not use loopholes to avoid holding a local referendum on a rise of more than two per cent - Colin Lambert's Cabinet has approved a rise of 3.5%.

Mr Pickles said he wanted council tax to be frozen, without cuts to services like bin collections or filling potholes.

Mr Pickles insisted that authorities who sanction big rises in bills had to explain it to local people and those who refuse will pay the consequences: ‘We will take into consideration anybody cheating their taxpayers. Anybody using loopholes will lose out next year,’ he said.

Local authorities had to cut waste, innovate and focus on ‘putting people first’, Mr Pickles added.

‘What residents really want is cuts to taxes not bin collections; potholes filled not pockets. Councils that put their people first, will get the idea. To those that don’t we’re sending out a message loud and clear.

‘The days of the knee jerk tax and spend hike are over.’