IF it turns out to be true that Theresa May agreed a sweetheart tax deal with Surrey County Council then her pledge to “make Britain a country that works for everyone” would lie in tatters.

How can she agree a behind-closed-doors deal with the richest county outside London and still force northern authorities to axe vital services and hike bills?

Council leaders and taxpayers across the country had their eyes fixed on Surrey after the Tory-led authority proposed an unprecedented 15 per cent increase in council tax – a move that would have been put to residents in a referendum on the issue in May. Authorities are legally required to hold a referendum for council tax increases above 5 per cent.

Chancellor Philip Hammond and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt are both Surrey MPs and the idea of a Conservative council getting into a messy public spat with residents clearly set the alarm bells ringing at Number 10.

The sudden scrapping of the 15 per cent rise down to 4.99 per cent begs questions about what assurances Surrey Council was given to make such a move following earlier dire warnings about its finances. Where does it leave local authorities across our region that are struggling desperately to make ends meet?

Durham councillors this week predicted that the government’s savage austerity policy is likely to continue well into the next decade meaning more of the area's essential services are at risk and more council tax hikes are heading down the pipeline. 

In Mrs May’s maiden speech as PM she promised to “make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few, but for every one of us”. Those words now ring very hollow indeed.

Our fashion conscious PM would appear to be more concerned about helping well-heeled southern shires in their hour of need rather than supporting cash-strapped people in the north.