
Tory MP Ashley Fox chose this week to raise Bridgwater Town Council’s precept increase in Parliament and was immediately criticised by Town’s Labour Leader Brian Smedley who called it ‘desperate measures’. Cllr Smedley has written to the new Conservative MP saying he had made ‘no attempt to discuss the budget with the Town Council and instead took it straight into the political spotlight’. The MP then posted his speech all over social media but what he didn’t post was the Government’s reply as it clearly didn’t suit his agenda. Labour Minister Torsten Bell MP responded to Fox’s allegations saying “I say gently to the hon. Member that the driving up of council tax bills is a direct result of the destruction of local government finances by the Conservative party over 14 years.”
Cllr Smedley added “The Tories are going all out to try to deflect the blame from themselves for creating this mess for local government. It was them in Government for the past 14 years with their policy of austerity, it was them that decimated Council spending powers in some cases by up to 50%, them that cut off local government support streams forcing them to invest in commercial property, and them that pushed social care provision into the rip-off private sector so that when councils set their budgets they simply can’t because they’ve no idea how long a piece of string is! It’s no wonder so many councils are going into special measures but it;s a shame to see the Conservatives adopting ‘desperate measures’.”
Cllr Smedley wrote at once to the MP and we reproduce the full text here.
FAO Sir Ashley Fox MP
5.2.2025
Dear Ashley,
I’m writing to you regarding your recent comms about Bridgwater Town Council and our budget setting and the need to raise it in Parliament without first discussing it with us..
After our recent meeting, I had hoped that we had turned a corner and would be able to work more collaboratively, as we did with your predecessor. In light of this, I expected at least an email from you to discuss the matter before you proceeded with raising it in Parliament. This way, you would have had all the necessary information.
It’s important to remember that percentage figures can be misleading and distort reality. Bridgwater Town Council’s share of the council tax (precept) is only 12% of the total council tax bill. The increase is primarily needed to protect and improve services and assets in Bridgwater.
The overall council tax bills will not increase by 39%. Instead, Bridgwater Town Council’s share will increase by 39%, leading to an overall rise of approximately 6% in council tax bills for residents of Bridgwater. However, this figure will be slightly higher due to Somerset Council being granted permission to raise their precept by 7.5%.
The Band D figure quoted is a national benchmark, but only 803 properties in Bridgwater are on Band D. 92.84% of Bridgwater properties are in bands A-C.
Here’s a breakdown of the tax increase for Bridgwater residents in Bands A-C properties (assuming two adults without council tax support) starting April 1, 2025:
Band A (8,924 homes): £5.27 per week (an increase of £1.48).
Band B (4,712 homes) will now pay £6.15 per week, an increase of £1.73.
Band C (2,667 homes) will pay £7.03 per week, an increase of £1.98.
We believe that these figures provide excellent value for residents. This weekly amount will fund various services for Bridgwater residents, including youth engagement programs, community events, enhanced street cleaning in residential areas, road sweeping and gully clearing, CCTV funding (60 cameras across Bridgwater), maintenance of 25 play areas, parks, and open spaces, community grants schemes, community centres (ReCreation and Rollercoaster), cemeteries (Bristol Road, Quantock Road, and Wembdon Road), cultural venues (Arts Centre and Town Hall), and Christmas lights.
We are not the only parish or town council to raise council tax, and our ultimate goal is to improve residents’ lives. The town council has been fully transparent and publishes all financial information on its website.
The budget was presented to each committee, and meetings were held in public. The meetings were as follows:
– Community Services Committee: 16 October 2024 (note that two conservatives sit on this committee, but no conservatives attended this meeting).
– Amenities Committee: 24 October 2024 (note that two conservatives sit on this committee, but no conservatives attended this meeting).
– Finance and Corporate Committee: 11 November 2024 (Diogo attended this meeting).
I’d like to remind you that the previous Conservative governments significantly reduced funding to principal councils.
Somerset County Council, under the Conservative administration, also chose not to raise council tax for several years. This has led to the crisis in Somerset and, unfortunately, across the country. Some interesting data can be found here: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/local-government-funding-england. The House of Commons Library will be pleased (I am sure) to provide you with further impartial information on the reduction in local government funding.
Yours sincerely
Cllr Brian Smedley
Leader
Bridgwater Town Council
Bang on old chap!