Maidstone Weald Labour Party

The current Conservative administration of Kent County Council has opened
its annual ritual of claiming that the Labour Government has failed to give
Kent enough money because what should come to Kent has "gone North".

Mike Eddy, Labour Shadow Leader of Kent County Council, says:

"The Tories in Kent are pulling the usual trick of claiming insufficient funds
from Government so that they can increase council tax as much as they
dare. Tough action in the past by Labour Ministers has meant that Kent
will be very foolish indeed if they put council tax up above 5%."

Kent County Council, like every other council in the land, has benefited
from the security of knowing that this year's grant from Government was
known in advance thanks to Labour's financial forward planning. The Tories
in Kent have no excuses for failing to plan properly.

Mike Eddy adds:

"It is sad that the council tax payers of Kent and the hard-working officers
of the council have to put up with this annual display of shroud waving when they see the waste of resources going on around them. The level of waste ranges from a few £100,000s on trips abroad to millions on the Turner Centre and the highways reorganisation. The myth that money has gone up North
was exposed some time ago. The Tories need to forget the spin and learn
how to govern, both for the whole county as well as the whole nation."