Dwindling finances could force council tax referendums despite Bedfordshire rejection

Councils could become increasingly attracted to the idea of holding referenda on council tax rises, despite voters rejecting the first proposed rise in a vote last week, according to a local government expert.

Bedfordshire’s police and crime commissioner Olly Martins triggered the first such mandatory referendum after proposing a rise of 15.85% in the police precept to fund 100 extra police officers.

But the proposal was roundly rejected, with less than a third of voters (30.5%) voting in favour and 69.5% voting against.

Simon Parker, director of think tank New Local Government Network, told Room151: “Most councils assumed these would be difficult to win and have shied away from holding referenda. This results just confirms that.”

But he said the continuation of austerity resulting from the general election result means the idea could come back onto the agenda in a year or two’s time.

“As we reach a point in 2017/18 when smaller councils slam into a brick wall, going to a referendum will be one of the only options left to them.”

In addition, members of the public will increasingly notice the effect of cuts on council services.

“At the moment, it is the fringe services that have been hit and most people don’t notice that. If you say to them that we need the money to keep parks open or carry on collecting rubbish, they might be more open to the idea of a small increase.”

A number of councils, including in Brighton, had toyed with the idea of holding a referendum – required for proposed increases of more than 1.99% – but backed down.

Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive, of the Local Government Information Unit, said: “Councils need more devolution of tax raising powers, not more barriers to using the one they have some control over.

“Voters rejecting the first council tax referendum in Bedfordshire last week is another case in point.

“On the one hand George Osborne is ready to hand over billions of pounds to Greater Manchester to locally control, whilst at the same time Department for Communities and Local Government rules mean that local government has no room for manoeuvre to run basic services.”

A statement from Martins said that the “no” vote meant the budget of Bedfordshire Police will now be £1.28m less in the current financial year than it was last year.

The cumulative impact of anticipated government funding cuts is currently projected to lead to a £6m funding shortfall, he added.

He claimed that the resulting reduction of up to 135 police officers would leave Bedfordshire Police as “potentially a weak link in the fight against terrorism and organised crime”.

Photo (cropped): Dave Connor, Flickr