SIR – As I sat in a recent city council meeting (February 19) I watched and listened with incredulity as the Labour Party, under the direction of Adrian Gregson, unveiled its philosophy on taxation.

It’s quite simple, the party will raise taxes on everybody regardless of the need – they just want your hard-earned money.

Labour tabled an amendment to the budget demanding a 1.99 per cent (remember this number, the significance of it becomes clear later) increase in council tax.

This is directly opposed to the Conservative budget, which aimed to freeze council tax, something they have done for three years. The vote was close and named.

Every member of the Labour Party, including the city’s Labour parliamentary candidate Joy Squires, voted to raise council tax.

They were ably supported by our Green Party member for St Stephen, Councillor Neil Laurenson. So we now know where his real politics lie.

Close as the vote was – 17-15 – the Conservatives won; and the people of Worcester will be relieved to know that their council tax will not rise this year.

This decision was made by the Conservatives based on a balanced budget that doesn’t require additional funding.

To complete the story, the Labour amendment was based on rejecting a government grant, one that the city’s taxpayers have already contributed to, but Labour wanted the people of Worcester to pay again.

Now back to that figure of 1.99 per cent. Why is it so important? The reason is that Labour picked this number as it is 100th of a per cent below the figure of a two per cent rise, at which the council would have had to have had a referendum and let the people of Worcester have a direct say in the matter.

Now call me cynical, but it strikes me that 1.99 pe rcent was picked because it was the highest tax that Labour could get away with without going to a referendum, which they knew they would have lost.

So what did Ilearn at the council meeting? Ilearnt that Labour want to tax for the sake of taxing, and are prepared to do it even when it is against the wishes of those who voted them into office.

I find that shocking and unethical.

CHRIS MITCHELL

City councillor for St Clement’s