Paul Johnston

The Surrey Comet's coverage of the 2007 Council Budget debate is at this link:- http://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.1244255.0.damp_squib_debate_on_council_tax.php.

It was predictable, as the reporter writes, that the Lib Dems would support their own budget. They are, after all, the Executive and they have all the resources of the Council bureaucracy at their disposal in framing a budget.

They were disappointed that the Conservatives refrained from producing an 'alternative' budget that they could attack. They obviously yearn for the days of No Overall Control when all three parties regularly did this and they were able to gang up with Labour and impose a higher Council Tax than the Conservative minority administration was proposing (2000 and 2002) - and then blame the Tories for it!

The report is inaccurate in stating that this was 'the first time in many years' we had not proposed an alternative budget. Cllr. Osbourne said it was but his assertion was incorrect. In fact we did present one last year to present our views to the electorate who would be voting in less than two months time. More of them did, as it happens, vote for us than for the Lib Dems. However I do not recall us presenting a full-blown alternative in the previous three years.