At the Budget Council meeting last night, the Liberal Democrat amendment to give most residents a cost of living rebate received cross-party support.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Lisa Smart, Lib Dem lead on the budget, said: “Our residents are facing a cost of living crisis with soaring energy bills and rising food costs as well as a hike in National Insurance and central government pushing more and more of the costs of social care onto local residents through council tax precepts. I am delighted that councillors from [other/all] parties agreed with us that we ought to do what we can to reduce the impact a little through our cost of living rebate.
“We took a deliberate decision to share our proposal well ahead of the meeting to try to encourage other groups to put politics aside and think about what is best for our residents, and this was clearly the right approach this year.”
Cllr Mark Hunter, Leader of the Lib Dems at Stockport Town Hall, added: “This is a great boost for us as we face the local elections in a few months’ time. We have shown that we are the party of sound financial management and that we are the ones who are able to broker the cross-party agreement needed to take Stockport forward.
“We have responded to the unprecedented cost of living crisis our residents face with a realistic proposal, backed up by action, not the hollow promises we have seen from the local Tories. It is their government’s fault that our economy is now in a mess, with inflation running at a 30 year high and energy costs through the roof.”
