Liberal Democrat Housekeeping - an example

North Norfolk District Council has raised much indignation in Norfolk by sending bailiffs to forcibly remove property belong to 500 ratepayers and business tax payers who cannot or will not pay their rates. The Council is not so much controlled by the Liberal Democrats as dominated by them, having 30 seats out of 48.

This seems a little high handed, but perhaps this comes at the end of a long process of letter writing and warnings. It is debatable whether their action is more or less acceptable than taking court action.

What is less acceptable is that rates demanded for a band have risen from £572.13 in 1997 to £1281.81 in 2007, a rise of 124%. This increase is way above the national average of about 100%.

Some reasons for this excessive increase could be:
- that last November councillors awarded themselves a pay increase of 28%
-that their spending on self-congratulatory publicity has risen to£600,00, an increase of 22% since 1997
-that they spend £2.5 million on its own propaganda, an increase of 166% since 1997

The total of uncollected rate and tax is £616,000. To raise that amount in public auction of second hand goods means that the rate payers will have to pay a good deal more to replace the goods.

There is an old saying, "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." Perhaps democracy will be reasserted, and the LibDem Council will have shot itself in the foot?