Opposition councillors in Staffordshire would scrap controversial 'tip tax'

All 62 seats are being contested with the ruling Conservative group expected to retain control of the authority despite four years of austerity and cuts to youth clubs, libraries and support services for the elderly.

Opposition Labour councillors have vowed to scrap controversial waste disposal charges dubbed the 'tip tax'.

But the Conservatives are standing by its charges.

Conservative deputy leader Ian Parry, who is defending his seat in Stone Rural ward tomorrow, said: "We think it is fair that material that is clearly trade waste should be charged for and anybody that is bringing domestic waste will not be charged. We want to make that absolutely clear so people understand the difference."

Mr Parry said he was not complacent about the election, saying: "We do not count chickens, we count votes."

The Conservatives currently hold 32 seats compared to Labour's 24, but have also come under fire over potholes on the county's roads.

Labour is contesting all 23 seats around Stafford, Cannock Chase and South Staffordshire, while the Green Party is contesting all but one. Both parties have said they will scrap the new waste charges. UKIP and the Liberal Democrats are also against the scheme.

Labour say the scheme is illegal, while the Greens argue it has led to a sharp rise in fly-tipping and needs to be reversed.

Sue Woodward, Staffordshire Labour leader who is seeking re-election in Burntwood North, said: "Every Labour candidate standing in the county council elections is against the tip charges."

Paul Woodhead, Green Party co-ordinator for Staffordshire and a candidate for Hednesford and Rawnsley, added: "The tipping tax is something we would want to reverse. It creates a barrier to people using proper facilities to dispose of waste and we have already seen a year on year increase in fly-tipping."

Jeff Sheriff, UKIP candidate in Burntwood South, described the charges as 'absolutely wrong' while Martin Lewis, the secretary of the Stafford and Stone branch of the Liberal Democrats, said the party would 'prefer it' if the charges were reversed.

Labour, the Green Party, UKIP and the Liberal Democrats have all been damning on the Conservative Party's attempt to tackle potholes plaguing the roads.

Mr Woodhead accused the county council of removing £66 million rom its road maintenance budget while Mrs Woodward added: "It is the issue that affects 99 per cent of people. People either drive, are passengers, or get public transport and they can see the dreadful state of the roads. The Tories give all sorts of possibilities to tackle the issue but in eight years of control the problem has got worse."

The Conservatives have pledged to stump up to £5 million next year towards tackling potholes. Philip Atkins, the leader of the Conservative party in Staffordshire, said: "We know it’s a concern to residents and we think it is therefore essential that we raise additional capital through assets sales and borrowing to invest in our roads. We want to try to get ahead of the problem so there will be an extra cash injection in highways. But we also want to see a marked improvement in the quality and common sense of simple maintenance tasks.”

Polls for the Staffordshire County Council Election open tomorrow from 7am until 10pm. The results will be announced from midday on Friday.