LABOUR and Conservative rivals clashed at the Town Hall on Monday as council tax bills went up by nearly 4 per cent. Although both sides agreed that Camden should use a relaxation in the rules offered by Chancellor George Osborne to raise bills 2 per cent to pay for growing demands of social care services, the Tories said there was no need to raise council tax further at the budget-setting session. Holding the majority, Labour’s proposals for a 3.99 per cent rise were approved in the all-member vote, with council chiefs insisting that a history of regular tax freezes and swingeing cuts in public spending ordered by the government left them with little choice but to ask for more from residents. Finance chief Councillor Theo Blackwell said that Camden was losing £24million a year from the government, adding that the Town Hall still “faced huge challenges and risks”. He blamed the Conservatives nationally for protecting budgets for shire councils outside of London at the expense of inner city areas, traditionally under Labour’s control, such as Camden. Council leader Sarah Hayward added: “We’ve worked hard to deliver value for money in the services we provide, and keep council tax bills low. We have, however, reached a point where government cuts to funding, coupled with pressures from an ageing population mean we have little choice but to make a small increase.” Conservative finance spokesman Councillor Don Williams said the cuts by the government were “necessary”, but said that cutting down on waste and increasing revenue streams could avoid a tax rise. He added: “Camden’s rise now places it in the highest rung of increases in London and the South East. Some council have put up their charges by 2 per cent and others nothing at all. “Labour in Camden is intent on spending as much of our hard-earned cash as possible.” His colleague Andrew Mennear said the rise would be unwelcome for families still struggling to recover from a recession which he said “was a large part down to the last Labour government”. The Tories accuse Labour of taking their ideas on bringing in money to the council from revenue schemes such as advertising arrangements. Sole Liberal Democrat councillor Flick Rea said Labour’s proposal was not the worst budget she had seen over the years but said Camden was wrong to be looking at closing council-run toilets to save money, as the availability of free public conveniences was a “mark of a civilised society”. The Greens’ Sian Berry said her party still advocated a local referendum on council tax to see whether the public would actually support higher tax bills if they could see how it translated to saving valued services. Letters, page 17