Commenting on today’s Conservative local government proposals, Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, Julia Goldsworthy said:“Rather than being radical, many of these proposals could have been copied straight from the Government’s agenda.

“The Tories only talk about localism when it suits them, and when they do they think it makes sense to force elected mayors on cities hand picked from Westminster.

“What this makes clear is that the Tories, like the Government, have no intention of reforming the grossly unfair Council Tax that they created. Rather than tinkering, the whole system should be scrapped and replaced with a fair tax based on the ability to pay.”