FEARS that council tax in Redcar and Cleveland could be raised by as much as 12pc next year have prompted a major financial review.

Senior councillor Glyn Nightingale, of the new ruling coalition at Redcar and Cleveland Council, has asked council chief executive Colin Moore to undertake the review.

He argued that the previous Labour administration, which lost control in elections last month, had put off spending money ahead of the election to keep down council tax.

Liberal Democrat Coun Nightingale, lead member for corporate resources, said Labour had left an "appalling legacy" and any council tax increase would be its fault.

He said the previous Labour council had put off increasing the salaries of senior staff, a reference to the increase in salary from more than £80,000 to about £110,000 for the chief executive.

He also said the previous council had put back spending money on schools and sorting out payments for home care provision.

The statement is the latest in a series of recriminations between Labour, still the largest single party, and the ruling three-party coalition of Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Independents.

Coun Nightingale said: "In a vain attempt to prevent electoral defeat, Labour effectively tried to bribe the voters with a zero council tax increase last time.

l Continued on page 3