Following the decision to agree a Council Tax increase of 1.99% at the reconvened Budget Council, Women’s Champions Cllrs Ruth Buckleyand Liz Wakefield said:
“Brighton & Hove City Council agreed a 1.99% increase in council tax due to the threat of Eric Pickles interfering in local democracy. The Greens believe this budget is not the one that the city deserves.
“As we’ve highlighted for years, austerity disproportionately affects women. The Government is turning its back on working families, with cuts to nursery places, child support and working tax credits. Three in five carers in Brighton & Hove are women, whose unpaid and undervalued contribution to society is growing as they are expected to pick up the tab from government cuts.
“The threat to women’s independence is very real due to the Government’s combination of job losses, and cuts to welfare and services.
“Only the Greens proposed long term protection to services and jobs now and in the future through a 4.75% council tax increase. Labour and the Tories refused to put aside their pro-austerity policies and instead chose to impose more cuts on the vulnerable of our city. We are deeply disappointed that our proposals were blocked by the opposition.
For the good of all in the city we urge opposition councillors, especially Labour, and other groups concerned with how the government’s cuts are affecting women, to work with us to tackle the financial cliff-edge the city faces next year.”
Notes
Greens proposed a successful motion to council condemning the disproportionate impact of cuts on women in December 2011:http://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/Published/C00000117/M00003264/AI00023225/$Item51eNM05GrnGrpImapctofCutsonWomen.docA.ps.pdf
For more information please contact the Brighton and Hove Green Party office on 01273 766 670.