Your bills are going up – but you are getting less back.

We have seen less investment on roads, public buildings, and other services in our area – but our Council tax has gone up by 17% over the last four years. Has your salary gone up by 17% in the same period – few people have been this lucky?

This is a sign of Liberals being unable to look after your money and run a Council well. I have had experience of this. I was a Councillor when I lived in Berkshire – in fact I was Senior Councillor and also Leader for much of the period from 2010 to 2016. In that time we say Council tax rise by less than 3%.

Running a Council involves taking difficult decisions, with staffing and ways of working sitting at the centre of this. But it also means hard choices. By continually increase the cost of a bill that you legally must pay, the hard choices are being made by you – where to find the extra money – and not by the people you have elected.

Campaigning for election – and then running a local authority – are very different things. If you want your bills as low as possible, and your Council to be run for your benefit, elect people who know how to manage things – and have a track record in doing so.