DUDLEY Labour Party's bid to hike up council tax by nearly five per cent was lost after a five-hour meeting on Monday.

UKIP members voted with the Conservatives to approve a 3.99 council tax rise instead - after a long drawn out evening of motions, amendments, counter amendments, votes and insult hurling and heckling in Dudley's council chamber.

Of the 3.99 per cent increase - three per cent will go towards adult social care and just under one per cent will go into the general council tax pot.

The authority's leader, Councillor Pete Lowe, said the decision to vote against an extra one per cent would mean the loss of £1.2million in extra funds over the next year "that would have been used to protect frontline services" and he said of the meeting: "If it wasn't so serious - you'd think it was a good old British comedy."

In the final binding vote which sets the budget for 2017/18 - victory for the Tories and UKIP came down to just one vote.

Shadow finance spokesman Councillor Steve Clark's amendment to Labour's original proposal for a 4.99 per cent rise was voted through 36-35.

Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Conservatives, said afterwards he was "overjoyed" with the result. 

He told the News: "It's not very often the opposition can get through its original amendment at a budget. It just goes to show how silly the Labour group have been - they could have gone home hours ago. This has spectacularly backfired on them."

Councillor Paul Brothwood, leader of Dudley's UKIP group, said: "We're over the moon that we stopped Labour putting forward one of the largest council tax rises in Dudley's history."

The vote also included a successful amendment put forward by UKIP stating: "The chief executive be instructed to source a private company that would be targeted to deliver savings of five per cent from procurements over the next three years and would be paid on results."

Cllr Brothwood added: "Our radical procurement motion will ensure future tax rises are not needed and we can save frontline services."

Cllr Lowe said going forwards all parties would need to work together to come up with details on how additional savings can be made for 2017/18 to satisfy the budget requirements.

As part of the budget vote - the council also approved a package of proposals relating to terms and conditions, which will come into effect from April 1, for all staff except craft workers (plumbers, electricians, plasterers etc working to maintain the council's housing stock) employed within the Housing Revenue Account for whom an alternative course of action will be considered.

As part of the terms and conditions - staff mileage rates will be cut from 55p to 45p per mile yielding annual savings of £144,000, staff will each take three days of unpaid leave during the Christmas break - leading to annual savings of £809,000, a pay freeze will be introduced for staff earning more than £23,166 to save £550,000 a year, and there will be an additional overtime freeze for staff who earn £36,937 or above.

Councillors will also take a five per cent cut in their allowances and the council and opposition leaders will take a ten per cent cut in their allowances.

A bid for four-yearly all out elections is also a step closer after the council voted to instruct the chief executive to start statutory procedures towards changing the cycle of when voters would go to the polls, which would save around £250,000 in any year when an election is not held.