Loans, bills and that tax!

As someone who has experienced difficulties with Payday Loan Companies in the past, I was very interested in the comments made by Councillor John Taylor in his recent letter - particularly his bold statement that "at long last someone is standing up to these companies.......Ed Miliband!"

The following extract is from an entry in Wikipedia during the time of the last Labour Government: "Payday loans in the UK are a rapidly growing industry, with four times as many people using such loans in 2009 compared to 2006—in 2009, 1.2 million people took out 4.1 million loans, with total lending amounting to £1.2 billion. The average loan size is around £300, and two-thirds of borrowers have annual incomes below £25,000. There are no restrictions on the interest rates payday loan companies can charge.....".

So, maybe Councillor Taylor would like to explain why the last Labour Government did nothing about these loan companies between 2006-2010 - particularly at the time when the Banking Crisis was hitting the most vulnerable - and why they actually allowed such companies to prosper in the first place?

Or why Tameside Labour Council - with its overwhelming majority of 51 Councillors - has itself not taken "a stand" by making it extremely difficult for such companies to operate in Tameside - after all, their policies have made it almost impossible for many other more respectable shops and businesses to stay open in the Borough?

Finally: "Payday lenders are doing nothing more than preying on the most vulnerable" says the Deputy Leader of Tameside Labour Council. So please Councillor Taylor, can you also explain why - when we are now experiencing rip-off energy bills and during what you yourself described as the "worst cost of living crisis for 150 years" - has Labour put the Council Tax up by 3.5%?

Carl Simmons

Denton South Independent

31st October 2013