Families and residents in Basildon could see their council tax increasing every year - for the next decade.

The grim warning comes after a ten year budget forecast was presented to Basildon Council’s corporate resources committee.

The forecast is based on a 2.9 per cent increase next year and 1.9 per cent each year after.

If other councils and emergency services increase by similar amounts those in a band D home will be paying about £400 more a year in ten years time.

Labour councillors raised concerns about the measure, claiming that the Conservatives would be breaking a key election promise if it were to go ahead.

Labour’s deputy leader David Burton-Sampson said: “I’ve seen your campaign leaflets and your campaign promises from the previous local elections in May and they all claim you were going to keep taxes low - that you would not raise council tax. This seems to go against that.”

Committee chairman Stuart Sullivan defended the increase as “not set in stone” and said that it is incorrect to say the Conservatives had pledged to freeze council tax.

He said: “We put forward as an opposition an alternative budget in February whereby we froze council tax.

“That was an alternative budget at that point, for the year of 2018/19, the statement in the agenda is for 2019/20.

“This is just a working assumption, it is certainly not set in stone and it is certainly not the intention of this council or the Conservative administration to raise council taxes unnecessarily.

“The Conservative administration always looks to keep taxes as low as possible.”

Earlier this year Basildon faced a council tax increase of 2.9 per cent for 2018.

This was approved under a Labour administration and came after a public consultation found the majority of residents backed an increase if it meant protecting important services.

The two councillors continued to clash on the issue with Mr Burton-Sampson continuing to argue the Conservatives would be breaking promises and Mr Sullivan denying any promises had been made beyond this current financial year up until March.