“I think there was one I believe in Milton Keynes that voted for an extra, but to tell you the truth, I'm having a senior moment, it might have been Bristol.” Eric Pickles, Communities and Local Government Secretary, The Politics Show 12 December 2010

Background

If we give power to the people will they be willing to make difficult decisions? The Coalition Government today publishes its localism bill intended to give local communities a greater say on matters in their area.

But is the populace by definition too populist for such responsibility? Sceptics have argued that if given choices of taxes and spending voters will back a logic-defying scenario of lower taxes but increased funding.

Yet the Communities Secretary yesterday suggested that while turkeys may not vote for Christmas, local people do in some cases vote for council tax rises.

With Mr Pickles unable to recall the specifics in his interview, Full Fact decided to find out how the referendums went in these apparently tax-happy towns.

Analysis

Back in 1999 the people of Milton Keynes backed a 9.8 per cent rise in their local rates, with 46 per cent of ballots backing the option.

Yet the case is not as clear cut as it seems. People were not actually given the option of voting for rates to the stay the same, but were confined to the scale of the rise they would be willing to accept.

In fairness however, the people of Milton Keynes did not pick the lowest rise they could get away with. Despite being offered the option of a five per cent increase, the 9.8 per cent rise still proved most popular.

Given that 24 per cent backed an even greater rise we could postulate that even had a 'no rise' option been available it would not have won, but of course there is no way of knowing with any certainty.

In Bristol, the other possible example offered by Mr Pickles, a different picture emerges.

Polled on what they wanted to happen to their council tax, Bristolians did choose the lowest option available with 54 per cent of electors choosing to keep the rate the same, when they could have plumped for two, four, or six per cent increases instead.

A similar picture emerges in Croydon, where on two occasions voters didn't exactly jump at the chance to pay higher taxes. A referendum in 2001 saw 51 per cent back the lowest rate rise of 2 per cent. Asked a similar question the following year, 74 per cent of votes cast were in favour of a 3.65 per cent tax hike – again, the lowest option on the table.

Conclusion

Despite his 'senior moment' Eric Pickles's memory serves him well, as Milton Keynes voters did indeed back a rise in council tax when asked directly about it.

However it appears that he was unable to recall the important point that voters were unable to vote against any rise.

It is also worth keeping in mind the context of the referendums and the questions that were asked. While we are still awaiting responses from the three councils as to the way the tax changes were put to the voters, it is worth keeping in mind one of the points made in a Departmental review of the polls.

In Milton Keynes the Labour controlled council backed the 9.8 per cent option, and indicated this with a leaflet distributed with voting slips. In contrast, the document notes there was little campaigning during the Bristol referendum.

However the other examples suggest that Milton Keynesian approach to tax and spending may be the exception rather than the rule, with the other three referendums to date all deciding on the lowest rise available.