March is when the light comes back; and this year, it is shining directly on the decisions taken at South Derbyshire District Council.
Over the last two years, the South Derbyshire Conservative Councillor Group has taken a clear, consistent, and disciplined position. While households have faced rising costs across the board - energy, food, mortgages, everything - we said something simple:
- Show restraint.
- Do not add to the pressure.
- Freeze council tax.
Not because it sounds good. Because it is right.
Because residents do not experience council tax in isolation. They pay one bill. And while the District Council is only one part of that bill, being a smaller part is not a license to increase it; it is a responsibility to show restraint. For many families, it is the weekly shop, the energy bill, the mortgage, and then council tax on top. It all lands at once.
We set that out clearly in both our 2025 and 2026 alternative budgets. Not once. Twice. A consistent plan, grounded in reality, focused on protecting residents and backing our communities. Labour chose a different path.
They did not just reject our proposals, they dismissed them, mocked them, and voted to increase council tax to the maximum allowed without a referendum. Not once. Twice.
And they did it while telling residents there was no room. No flexibility. No alternative.
Now the facts are in:
The Council’s own financial report shows that a budget set expecting a £119,000 deficit is now forecasting a £1.238 million surplus, rising to around £1.4 million once updates are accounted for.
A swing of over £1.3 million.
Let us be clear what that means. They said there was no room. They said there was no alternative. They chose to increase council tax; and the numbers now show they did not need to.
And the reality now shows something vastly different.
This was not a one-off. The report shows a stronger position right across the board, more income coming in and less going out. So, the truth is simple: They got it wrong.
Not marginally. Not technically. Fundamentally.
This is the difference between managing a budget and understanding people’s lives.
Because budgets are not spreadsheets. They are decisions about who you protect when it matters most.
And when families were under pressure, Labour chose to increase taxes and got the numbers wrong at the same time.
That is not judgement. That is failure.
And let us also be just as clear about Reform. At Derbyshire County Council, they campaigned loudly on cutting council tax. When it came to the decision, they increased it by 4.99%. Not a small rise. Not a reluctant compromise. The maximum!
So, when it mattered, Reform did the exact opposite of what they promised.
So, on one side, Labour, who raised taxes unnecessarily and got the numbers wrong.
On the other, Reform, who say one thing, then do another.
And then there is your Conservative Councillor Group. We said what needed to be said. We put forward a clear, balanced alternative. And we were right. Not just in theory - in reality. Because we understand something simple that others seem to forget. Restraint is a choice. And so is responsibility.
- We freeze council tax because we understand pressure.
- We back our communities through grants that deliver real change where people live.
- We invest in people with a £300,000 business start-up programme to support local enterprise and jobs.
- We support our parishes, properly, with Section 136 funding rising each year, protecting local events, community life, and the lengthsmen who keep our villages looking the way they should.
- We improve everyday services, with practical steps like Tetra Pak recycling that residents can use.
- And we focus on what works, not slogans, not theory, not politics!
And we are just as clear about what we will not do:
- We will not spend residents’ money on council-led “net zero” strategies and consultants that add cost locally while delivering little in return.
Real change happens through practical action, not headlines.
This is the choice:
- More of the same, higher taxes, weaker judgement, and broken promises.
- Or a Conservative team that is consistent, grounded, and proven right when it matters.
We do not guess. We do not gamble. And we do not say one thing and do another. We say what we mean. We do the work. And we get it right. Because this is not about headlines. It is about outcomes. It is about trust. And it is about making sure that when decisions are taken in South Derbyshire, they are taken for the right reasons, and with the right judgement.
Thank you, as always, for your support, your time, and your belief in what we are building together.
We will keep showing up. We will keep doing the work. And we will keep winning the argument because we are right.
When it comes to your money, your communities, and your future - we do not guess, we do not gamble, and we do not get it wrong.
Yours faithfully,
Cllr Daniel Corbin
Leader, South Derbyshire Conservative Councillor Group
