By Tamara Cohen PUBLISHED: 19:51 EST, 7 January 2013 | UPDATED: 02:33 EST, 8 January 2013 Comments: Eric Pickles said any council in England wanting to impose inflation-busting rises of above 2 per cent would have to hold a referendum Local authorities could force through council tax rises of more than 3 per cent this year by using a legal loophole to defy a Government freeze. Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said last month that any council in England wanting to impose inflation-busting rises of above 2 per cent would have to hold a referendum, which would be time consuming and all but impossible to win.
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Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles made ultimatum over council tax
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Said councils wanting to impose rises above 2% must hold a referendum
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This referendum would be time consuming and all but impossible to win
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Labour-run Rochdale council has agreed a large rise of 3.5% from April
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But the authority has insisted it has no intention of holding a referendum
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It will attempt to use a technicality in the Localism Act over exclusions
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