HAMPSHIRE residents will cough up an above inflation 4.5 per cent increase in council tax from April, with the county council's Tory majority surviving a Lib Dem onslaught to rubber-stamp it. Dominated by bickering and jibes, last Thursday's annual budget meeting saw little chance of scenes earlier in Southampton of a Labour Lib Dem coup, as the Conservative council pulled rank. Held at HCC's Winchester headquarters, Tories claimed no cuts to frontline services, outlining a £14.7 million list of savings, amidst a £640m spending plan, including a £40m "sustainable" refurbishment of Winchester's Ashburton Court. The 2008/09 budget will see expenditure of £29m on roads and bridges, £26m on schools and £1m on residential homes and day care centres. Rival Lib Dems saw the budget as one of "cuts, cuts, cuts", lambasting the administration's £4.5m annual expenditure on corporate communications as "self-promotion". They baulked at the "excessive" reserve levels, which currently stand at £128m, swiping at proposed library cuts, excessive staffing at HCC, diminishing old people's homes and poor investment in youth services. The increase sees the bill for a Band D household currently paying £999 per year, rise to approximately £1,350 with district and parish councils, police and fire. Councillors endured a 50-minute speech from leader Ken Thornber. Mr Thornber highlighted the north-south divide as the reason for the rise, launching a broadside on the Labour government for regional inequalities, with a "cynical" rise in funding towards the "hinterlands of Labour support". "Had we received the average of Durham, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, at eight per cent, then I could have reduced our increase to 2.5 per cent," he said. "Hampshire has lost tens of millions of pounds to those areas over the years and government has expected our council tax payers to pick up the bill. "Our grant is £112 per head, while Durham's is £325," he added. Lib Dem leader Adrian Collett proposed an amended budget, taking £4.7m from reserve funds to lower council taxes. Proposing a slash to money spent on corporate communications, to boost bus services, libraries, and youth and social workers, Lib Dems saw their budget thrown out. "Pretending there are no cuts is dishonest and incompetent," said Mr Collett. Accusing Mr Thornber of "weasel words", he blasted Tory plans to cut council tax in 2009. "If we can afford to bring down council tax next year, we can afford to do it now. I note that the last time there was a proposed 3.5 per cent council tax cut was in 2005 – coincidentally they are both council election years!"