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People on low incomes in County Durham are about to be hit with a council tax bill for the first time. Reform-led Durham County Council has voted to scrap full council tax exemptions for people on the lowest incomes. From April many residents who previously paid nothing will now be required to pay at least 10% of their council tax. This change affects people already struggling. Those on benefits. Those in insecure work. Those choosing between food heating and rent. For many households even a small new bill is not small at all. It is another pressure in a cost of living crisis. The deputy leader of the council Darren Grimes has described the move as “fair and efficient”. That raises an obvious question. Fair for who. Efficient for who. When the poorest are asked to pay more while councils face budget holes created by political choices higher up the chain that is not fairness. It is cost shifting. This decision comes at the same time Reform councils elsewhere are applying for large council tax rises and emergency loans. In Worcestershire a Reform-controlled council has applied for permission to raise council tax by up to 10%. In other areas Reform councillors have faced criticism for overspending while residents are told to tighten their belts. This is what Reform in power looks like. Cuts to support. New charges for those least able to pay. Big talk about efficiency followed by ordinary people picking up the bill. If you are on a low income this matters. If you care about fairness this matters. Reform are not your friends.

Reform UK are trying to bring back Maria Caulfield as a candidate. She’s a failed Tory Minister. Let’s not forget scandals she was involved in: 1) As Health Minister, she pocketed almost £8,000 in severance pay despite returning to the same job just seven weeks later, she then refused to hand the cash back with mealy mouthed excuses: https://t.co/YMDHihWL0k 2) She faced calls to refer herself to the parliamentary ethics adviser over false ‘15-minute city’ claims she put on leaflets: https://t.co/L53sWfF2p3 3) She MP opposed the decriminalisation of abortion: https://t.co/XNUrfVTQfX 4) She made up a claim that Keir Starmer a 'four-day week': https://t.co/oJvD0olOuF 5) She shared a far-right video claiming Keir Starmer had been reluctant to prosecute grooming gangs when he was director of public prosecutions https://t.co/WWy0uXHrhc It’s clear she’s a liability.