The Conservative Party: 10/04/2012 Party Election Broadcasts

Given the financial mess Labour created,

household budgets are under strain.

So nobody wants to see their money wasted.

Especially when it's by the people

who are supposed to be serving you and your community -

your local council.

Under the last Labour government, council tax doubled,

whilst Labour councils wasted money hand over fist,

spending your money unchecked on full-time trade union officials

and propaganda newspapers.

Labour councils also paid chief executives astronomical salaries.

It's something that Conservatives in Government

could not allow to continue.

We pledged to show you how councils spend your money

by making them open up their books.

Only one council has failed to do this. It's a Labour one.

We're also cracking down on those who want to pay

their chief executives absurd amounts.

Councils will have to vote on big pay packets,

and consequently,

chief executives are earning less than their predecessors.

But we're doing more than just stopping your money

being splurged on excessive salaries.

We are putting power in your hands, through a shake-up of local politics.

Because this Government knows the best decisions

are not always made in Whitehall.

We're not hoarding power in Government,

but devolving it to local people.

The mess Labour left behind shows they can't be trusted.

Don't let Labour do to your council what they did to the country.

It is Conservative councils that have proved time and again

that they're best placed to deliver local needs.

So today I'm calling on you to put this newly devolved power

into the hands of Conservatives.

Conservatives who spend money wisely,

and are transparent about how it's being spent.

Conservatives who believe in helping you with the cost of living,

which is why we offered councils the funding

to freeze council tax for a second year in a row.

Some councils have even cut their council tax for local residents.

On top of the saving from last year,

the Conservatives' council tax freeze initiative

has saved hard-working families and pensioners across the country

up to £147 on a Band D home since the election.

Your council tax is likely to be less under a Conservative council

than under a Labour or a Liberal Democrat one.

So don't let Labour do to your council what it did to the country.

Let Conservatives in local government deliver for you.