Where is the Money? The story goes on...

Well last year I asked the question about what Wakefield Met were doing, things only seem to be getting worse. The government's allocation to local authorities for 2008/9 has been declared, according to the Wakefield Express, Wakefield faces a £29million pound shortfall. We have been getting hints that life is looking particularily challenging.

I am due to get a briefing on the "emerging budget situation" and whilst Peter Box the Labour leader of the council talks about a balanced budget next year it looks to me as though this will impact jobs, front lines services, budgets for improvement and also the Labour Council is likely to push for a maximum Council Tax increase.

WMDC has been a grand labour project since 1974 and in that time they have had the opportunity to pretty much develop things as they want. Simply because they have had the votes they needed on tap in the Council Chamber. There have clearly been some positive things done but the controlling groups sense of reality has slipped from time to time.

Since its inception Wakefield has had the support of its sitting Labour MPs and for the last ten years the ear and support of the Blair and Brown NuLabour project. I hope they are calling in favours. But with council tax virtually doubling since 1997 and the Labour groups habit of running short and dipping into peoples pockets for more tax each year enough is enough. People on the doorstep keep telling me that it is time for a change and clearly that is why we know have sixteen conservatives elected, including three in one of the traditionally strongest Labour wards.

Clearly people are uneasy about the future and for many in the Labour Group this is likely to hit them in the ballot box in May.