Reform UK's Stockport branch have called to scrap the borough's £59 charge for garden waste collections, which they suggested could be funded by tackling 'wasteful council spending'.

The controversial fee was introduced last year as part of Stockport council's budget, and pays for weekly garden waste collections in green bins over a year.

It has generated millions of pounds of income for the council after thousands of residents signed up to pay the charge, but it also sparked backlash when it was first brought in.

Locals said last January that some people would 'struggle' to pay the fee. Fears were also raised about whether it would lead to more fly-tipping around the borough.

Stockport council is led by the Lib Dems under a minority administration.

Reform UK doesn't currently have any councillors in Stockport, but that could change after May 7 when the local elections take place.

Ahead of the crucial vote, Reform UK Stockport have called to scrap the borough's £59 garden waste charge altogether.

A Reform UK Stockport spokesman said: "The green bin tax introduced by Stockport council is deeply unpopular and is widely viewed as a council tax surcharge on the most responsible residents of the borough.

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"It discourages responsible disposal of garden waste, as with so many measures by central and local government, it penalises those who follow the rules.

"The measure encourages careless disposal of waste and is simply another unfair means of generating revenue from hard-working people.

"Reform UK Stockport aims to scrap the green bin tax and focus on wasteful council spending, and our policy in local government is to deliver efficient and cost-effective services for the people of Stockport."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked Reform which council services it would focus on to fund scrapping the garden waste charge.

Lib Dem Councillor Mark Roberts, leader of Stockport council, said Reform's call to scrap the garden waste charge amounted to a 'hollow promise and a stunt' ahead of the local elections.

He said that the fee is set to raise £3.3m for the council next year, funding pothole repairs, care services, and the upkeep of libraries and swimming pools.

Coun Roberts added: "Reform have taken over enough councils for us to know this is nothing but a hollow promise and a stunt, they give ambiguous solutions, then fail to deliver.

"We said all along that we do not like this charge and had the Labour government treated Stockport fairly by giving us any recovery grant funding, we would have scrapped it ourselves.

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"The fact of the matter is that the council budget is dominated by spending commitments for our elderly and vulnerable children. They are services that we are both morally and legally obligated to deliver on behalf of the government for local people.

"Across the country we have seen these snake oil salesmen tactics used by Reform campaigners, they promise the world, but don't deliver.

"Their talk of efficiencies is 'Reform code' for slashing services our residents rely on.

"Can Reform tell us which streetlights they'd turn off or children's homes they'd sell to fund this idea? The silver bullet that would ease the pressure on councils and residents is for the government to fund us properly, not more of Nigel Farage's politics of pound shop populism."

The local elections are taking place on May 7 where 21 out of 63 council seats are up for grabs.

The Lib Dems hold 30 out of 63 seats in Stockport, and Labour are the biggest opposition group with a total of 19 councillors.

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