Council tax support will be cut after the Mayor of Barnet used his casting vote to push the measure through.

The support is provided by Barnet Council and which helps people on low incomes and benefits pay their council tax.

But the amount people must pay will rise from 8.5 per cent to 20 per cent, after changes were agreed when the council met this evening.

The absence of Conservative councillor Danny Seal meant that the Conservatives had their majority of one stripped, leaving the council tied at 31 for and 31 against – until the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Hugh Rayner, used his casting vote to push the increase in contribution rates through.

Discussing the proposals before the vote, Councillor Richard Cornelius, Conservative leader of Barnet Council, said it seemed a sensible move, which meant that Barnet would be coming broadly in line with other boroughs.

Cllr Cornelius added that he was happy to pledge increasing support for discretionary funding, but that the council had not needed to use the money available in the past.

Councillor Jack Cohen, Barnet's single Liberal Democrat councillor, said the increase was unfair, and that it was "not too late" for councillors to change their minds.

Labour councillor Paul Edwards, whose party voted against the measure along with Cllr Cohen, said the rise would mean imposing a "staggering" 130 per cent increase on the borough’s poorest citizens.

He added: “This isn’t fair, it’s not just and it’s not equitable.”

A Labour amendment to create a ring-fenced discretionary fund to help people who could not afford to pay the increase, as well as to write off any outstanding amounts of CTS contributions, was also defeated.

The increase in contribution rates will come into effect from the start of the financial year in April.