RIVAL parties on Cheshire West and Chester Council have become embroiled in a row over council tax.

CWAC Conservatives say their motion for a freeze on council tax, to be tabled for the budget meeting on Thursday, February 21, was "blocked".

But CWAC said the motion was not validly made, while Labour accused the Tories of living "in cloud cuckoo land".

CWAC Conservatives group leader Lynn Riley said people had been burdened every year with unprecedented increases of over 19 per cent in their council tax since Labour took over control in 2015.

She said: “Cheshire West and Cheshire Council have more than £9 million in Council Tax surplus reserves so their plans to hit people hard in their pockets is so unfair.

“We fully support the proposed rise in council tax for the social care precept which goes to help the most vulnerable in the borough, but it’s out of order asking people to stump up more.

“Hard pressed residents deserve a break from these rises, even more so as the council collected significantly more in Council Tax receipts than it has budgeted for over recent years. The Government has extended a one per cent rent reduction to council tenants over the last four years and we feel it is fair to offer the same to other residents of the borough.”

Ms Riley added that if the Conservatives were in power raising Council Tax would not be their first port of call.

She said: “Our proposed freeze would result in a projected £5.27m shortfall which could be taken from surplus council tax funds and as needs be from the general reserve, the underspend on the capital finance budget and other allocated funds."

Ms Riley added that, if the Conservatives were to regain control of the council in May's local elections, the authority would "explore fully every opportunity to root out wasted spending" and find new ways of cutting costs.

She added: "Raising council tax will be a last resort, not the easy or default option. Labour simply aren’t listening to residents’ concerns about hiking tax – they’ve blocked us from trying to save people money.”

But CWAC disputed the claim the motion was blocked.

In a statement, the council said: "Council officers responded to Councillor Andrew Dawson with two reasons why the motion would not be included on the agenda.

"The first reason is procedural. The budget is an item on the agenda, and any member can propose an amendment.

"Cllr Dawson’s motion was not presented as a budget amendment, but instead as a notice of motion. Council officers advised Cllr Dawson that a more appropriate route was to make a proposal to amend the budget, rather than a notice of motion separate from the budget debate.

"The second reason was because it proposes freezing council tax, but does not propose an equivalent reduction in council spending sufficient to meet the cost.

"It is a requirement of legislation that the council’s Section 151 officer (the lead officer responsible for the council’s resources) is able to sign off proposals as meeting the legal requirement for a balanced budget."

Cllr Samantha Dixon, leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, slammed the Conservative group's claims.

She said: "This press release from the local Conservative Party demonstrates quite clearly how little they understand the current crisis in funding for local councils and how little they understand the council’s constitution.

"Voters need to decide who they trust. Labour has balanced the council budget every year for the last four years, despite the worst austerity since World War II.

"While freezing taxes might make for a nice soundbite during an election campaign, the reality is the reduced revenue would mean further crippling cuts to the services we all rely on. The decision to freeze council tax in the past by local Tories has left us with a £12 million hole in our finances.

"This pledge is either a false promise, or it demonstrates the sort of financial recklessness that has seen Tory councils in the south on the verge of bankruptcy. That is not a future that Labour councillors will accept for Cheshire West and Chester. I don’t think residents will accept it either.

"The local Tories live in cloud cuckoo land. They tell people they will freeze council tax when the Government's criteria for increasing local spending power is reliant on councils raising council tax.

"They promise you that you will pay less tax at the same time as promising more investment in local services. They promise better education for your kids, while cutting almost £12 million from local schools funding. They talk about fixing roads, but it is their own cuts that have forced a national crisis in road infrastructure.

"This latest announcement about a council tax freeze tells us that the local Tories will say anything to buy votes ahead of the elections in May.”