Axe The Council Tax

Council tax - introduced by the Tories - is the most unfair of taxes today and the Labour government is using Council Tax as a stealth tax - hurting millions of hardworking people on low incomes.

Lib Dems have been running a national campaign for the past 18 months and we have collected over 100,000 signatures to date. Through Lib Dem lobbying Labour is finally considering the merits of Local Income Tax to replace council tax and more and more independent bodies see Local Income Tax as the only fair way forward to pay for local services.

The Tories do not have a policy on local tax reform - they may claim to be sympathetic to the pain suffered by many people in Bracknell from this unfair tax but they have no idea what they would do to provide a long term solution to such an acute problem.

Below you will find some examples of people of who would benefit under Lib Dem proposals - but of course please remember even if you would be required to pay a little bit extra, this would be helping others who are really suffering under the current regime.

Find out more about our plans, including how much you would pay under our proposals.

A Fair Deal For Bracknell Pensioners

Bracknell's 16,000 pensioners as with some eleven million other pensioners in Britain today are receiving a bad deal from this government. Some two million pensioners live below the poverty line.

The poorest of these people are typically older pensioners who have exhausted their hard-earned savings and are now too old to work. The government's solution is to make these two million pensioners go through exhaustive means testing process where they have to prove they are poor - they are not trusted on this matter.

Some 1.4 million pensioners who are entitled to the government's new Pension Credit do not claim it. Last year state pensions were increased by just 2.6% But council tax across the country increased by 13%.

The poorest pensioners often have incomplete National Insurance contributions - typically women and those who have not worked in order to take care of their family in poor health.

The Liberal Democrats will fight for and have promised to deliver the following:

• To introduce a Citizen's Pension starting with those aged 75 and over which will pay a decent pension linked to the rising wealth of our country for all citizens of this country. Women and carers will earn the same pension as others in recognition of the contribution they are making to our society.

• To introduce free personal care to prevent those pensioners who have worked and saved hard from having to sell their assets to pay for personal care. In Scotland, where we share power, we have already introduced this policy.

• To bring in free off-peak local travel for all pensioners. Outside the rush hour, thousands of local buses and trains run virtually empty. Liberal Democrats will give pensioners free off-peak local travel on local public transport. That will mean more freedom for them; better use made of our expensive transport system; and less congestion and pollution for everyone.

What about the Bracknell Tories?

Many of the current problems that pensioners face today were created by the Tories in government:

• The Tories removed the link between the state pension and earnings replacing it with a link to prices only.

• The Tories introduced charging for personal care for the elderly

• The Tories introduced the Council Tax.

Today the Tories still don't understand the problem:

• David Willetts, the Tory spokesman for pensions, rubbishes the idea of a Citizens pension and the benefits for women and carers.

• The Tories don't see the need to raise the Basic State Pension NOW.

• The Tories still support the council tax.

• The Tories want to cut investment in public services and offer tax breaks to the better off - how can they be trusted to help pensioners today?

What action are the Lib Dems taking in Bracknell?

Bracknell Constituency Lib Dems will be starting a petition on 11th December to demand a fair deal for Bracknell's pensioners. See the events' section of our website for more details. If you would like to join us, please let us know:

Register my support for the Lib Dem policies to provide a fair deal for pensioners.