During this Budget run-up, many of those I met raised business rates as a killer, plus council tax, the apprenticeship levy, parking charges and corporation tax, too.
The cap for triggering referendums must now yield to popular consent to pay more in local charges to improve local services.
We boast the lowest council tax in Kent by a significant margin and retain our grammar schools. We are also revitalising derelict waterfronts.
We can make progress in these local elections next year – but not if we’re frustrated by stupid new rules.
Far from being a loss to the community they are more often derelict buildings and surplus land which can be used for housing.
We never forget we are spending our residents’ money. We have delivered new homes and we have kept our borough clean and green.
Voters are fed up with decay and decline. Labour will not be able to cling on much longer.
There is a lack of proper financial management or scrutiny – while second home owners can dodge paying Council Tax by registering properties as holiday lets.
My polling shows how a Tory candidate for Mayor of London could use a consumer-led approach to politics – as Margaret Thatcher did.
The Resolution Foundation’s new report is a serious piece of work, but its proposals to improve social care funding also bring political problems.
As Leader of the Conservative Party, I want to thank each and every one of you for all your hard work during the local elections.
At PMQs, the Prime Minister pointed to a street on the border of Lambeth and Wandsworth, where the Labour-run side pays far higher council tax.
Previously the parks were neglected and the roads full of potholes. The Conservatives have started to turn the borough around.
In the post-leave springtime, it will be worth considering what would happen if all three were abolished and replaced by a single Turnover Tax.
We are seeing 20,000 new homes, 25,000 new jobs, and the first new tube station in the borough for 90 years.