Labour’s Hollow Promises & U-Turns: Hartlepool MP Faces Backlash Over Council Tax Hike...

The Hartlepool Labour Group celebrating their election win in the Local Council Elections last year..

Public support of the minority elected Hartlepool Labour MP appears to have sunk to its lowest, as locals turn on the towns MP over Council Tax....

23rd Feb 2025

Some claim Brash's tenure as MP for Hartlepool will be 'short lived', as his support plummets...

Residents in Hartlepool this week woke up to yet another financial blow, as Labour councillors, spurred on by Hartlepool Labour MP Jonathan Brash issued the ultimate betrayal to already struggling town households by pushing through an unpopular council tax increase under the guise of ‘protecting services.’

Brash, who was only elected due to public frustration with previous governments rather than any genuine enthusiasm over his policies, now finds himself at the centre of a growing backlash from an electorate that feels increasingly betrayed, with fears that frustration could eventually boil over into something many believe could be a repeat of the summer 2024 riots if not managed quickly.

Excuses, Excuses: The Budget Deficit Blame Game

Residents feel they're being 'bled dry' by Council Tax hikes that are doing nothing to address the councils underlying financial problems.

Once again, Labour's said to be pointing the finger at past Conservative governments to justify their latest council tax hike, despite claims in Labours national election campaigns prior to being elected that council taxes wouldn't be increased under a Labour government. That being said, Brash claims Labour councillors are ‘taking decisive action’ to protect services in a town that has suffered years of decline, yet residents are asking: why does Labour’s solution seemingly always involve locals having to be forced to dig even deeper into their pockets? The so-called ‘staggering’ budget deficit they supposedly inherited is being used as a convenient scapegoat for what many claim is repeated financial mismanagement by the council that in 2023 was declared 'an authority of no public confidence', rather than an incentive to explore genuine cost-cutting measures within the council.

The fact remains that Labour’s response to financial challenges is somewhat 'predictable'—raise taxes whilst claiming to ‘invest’ in services. But where exactly is all this money really going? Hartlepool residents have sadly heard it all before. They’ve seen repeated promises of improvement & investment, only to witness further decline in public services, wasteful spending, and little in the way of actual progress.

Tax Hikes and Empty Gestures

Whats Hartlepool residents getting rewarded with by being told to stump up hundreds of pounds more in Council Tax....? A New Road Sweeper !

Brash proudly boasts about Labour’s efforts to expand the council’s street cleaning team and reinstate security in parks, but these were basic council responsibilities in the first place, It doesn’t take a massive council tax hike to manage routine maintenance or ensure that public spaces remained safe. Instead of being seen as achievements, these actions only expose the sheer neglect both Labour & the Conservatives allowed the council to get into in the first place. Residents are rightly asking: if the council has already received £10 million pounds in ‘additional government grant funding’ as Brash claims, why are local people being asked to pay even more?

Why is public money being continually squandered on mismanaged projects & senior officer salaries & pensions, whilst vital services remain in total disarray?

Public Support for Labour Plummets

Brash was seen as the only credible candidate to elect in the General Election last year, however many have come to regret their decision to support him.

Despite Brash’s attempts to use his left Wing Extremist Propaganda Platform "The Hartlepool Mail" to rabble-rouse about great future for Hartlepool under Labour, In reality Labour’s support in Hartlepool is visibly plummeting. More and more residents are now seeing through Labours empty rhetoric, realising that their hard-earned money is being funnelled into a bottomless pit of gravy train council officer salaries & pensions, whilst vanity projects & bureaucratic inefficiency continue to cripple the councils finances.

Even Brash himself would likely admit that he was never elected on a tidal wave of enthusiasm for Labour’s policies—his victory was in fact a protest vote against the failures of the governments of the past. However, now, even those who once backed him out of frustration with the Tories are left regretting their decision, as he continues to rubber-stamp Labour’s dangerous tax-and-spend agenda.

The People of Hartlepool Deserve Better

There's genuine concern, not just in Hartlepool, but wider afield that this years council tax increase could spark mass refusal to pay, crippling councils & the courts attempting to enforce the tax

Labour councillors and their MP can spin their actions for justifying yet another near 5% Council Tax increase however they like, but the people of Hartlepool are no fools, with the 2021 Hartlepool By-election seeing Labour sensationally ousted from the Parliamentary Constituency seat in 202, however with locals still seeing their council tax bills rising, their streets still in decline, and their town’s economy stagnating. The very notion that Labour is ‘putting Hartlepool first’ rings increasingly hollow when the only thing being driven up is both council tax & the cost of living for its already struggling residents.

Instead of trotting out the same tired excuses, many feel it’s time for Labour to be held accountable for their numerous U-Turns in policies & the lies that seen them being elected . How long can they continue to blame past governments whilst demanding more from the pockets of local taxpayers?

The people of Hartlepool deserve real leadership—not political posturing and empty justifications for yet another financial burden which many claim is now pushing even the hardest hard core Labour voters to consider moving their support to Reform UK, if it meant ridding themselves of what many claim is MP's which have been fraudulently elected to their posts.

One thing's clear: Labour’s hold on Hartlepool is slipping, and if they continue down this path, the backlash will only grow stronger, with many already fearful as to where this will eventually lead.....

Civil Unrest....