Fair Deal for Kingston!

On Friday, Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton took his campaign for a fair deal for Kingston to the House of Commons.   Prior to the debate, over 50 local council taxpayers joined Edward and Kingston Councillors in parliament square for a rally backing his campaign for a fair deal for Kingston.

Edward Davey MP has for many years been a vocal opponent of the unfair formula that successive Governments have used to calculate Kingston’s central grant settlement. Yet following this year’s abysmal settlement increase of 1.9% this actually represents a real terms cut in spending and adding to Edward’s fears is the current Settlement Working Group, which over the next eight months will develop the formula for the grant that every council receives until 2010/11.  Edward decided, “That enough is enough – the government must give a fair deal to Kingston!”

Susan Kramer, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park joined in Edward’s plea for a fair deal for Kingston at both the rally and in the subsequent parliamentary debate.

During the adjournment debate Edward Davey MP said,

“We need more Government support. We need the forthcoming review of the grant formulae to produce a settlement for Kingston that will not force councillors to consider closing day centres for the elderly, that will not reduce child protection levels for the most vulnerable, and that will not force the council to levy high levels of the most unfair tax in Britain today—the discredited and hated council tax. The residents of Kingston want a better deal from central Government”

At the rally Edward Davey MP said,

“I hope today that the minister goes back to her department and realises the effect her colleagues’ decisions are having on Kingston. I hope Labour begins to realise that the formula isn’t working. It’s not working for Kingston. It’s not working for south London – It’s just not working.

“Today the minister tried to claim that it was a fair system. Yet how can it be fair that Kingston loses 40 million pounds a year to central government in business rates.  How can it be fair that for every £1 paid council tenants pay in rent the government swipes 29p?  It’s not fair and the government should stop using Kingston as a cash point!

“I will be making representations to the Settlement working group and asking the council to work with other councils hit across south west London.”