NORTH Swindon MP Michael Wills has told the town's councillors to stop whingeing and to start delivering.

After the Government announced a huge extra financial injection for councils, Mr Wills said: "The council have got to recognise the huge increase in funds they have had and now there is more money from central Government.

"There should not be any need for a 13 per cent tax rise or anything like that."

And Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott may well play a significant role in deciding how much Swindon council taxpayers will have to fork out next year.

Yesterday he warned in the Commons that he was ready to act against any council that tried to impose a tax rise of double figures.

Just three days ago senior finance officers of Swindon Borough Council proposed a tax hike of 13.1 per cent to the cabinet.

In view of Mr Prescott's bullish stance, if Swindon councillors tried to implement their officers' recommendations, they would inevitably risk the wrath of central Government.

Mr Prescott believes that Swindon should be considering a council tax rise of no more than "low single figures".

Earlier, Chancellor Gordon Brown announced in a pre-Budget report that he was making an extra £340 million available to councils to ease the burden.

Swindon's share of the cake will be judged on need.

Mr Prescott warned: "I repeat that authorities, including the police and fire services, must be in no doubt that I am prepared to use my capping powers next year if that proves necessary."

The new windfall comes on top of the £420 million of grant support to local authorities announced in the provisional settlement last month.

Swindon South MP Julia Drown hoped the council would avoid the risk of Government intervention by voluntarily keeping down any increase to single figures.

"There has been lots of extra money from the Government for Swindon and residents have found it difficult to cope with the high tax increases of recent years," she said.

And Local Government Association chairman Sir Jeremy Beecham welcomed the extra cash as more than a "sticking-plaster measure".

He believed that local government was "getting its message across".

But Swindon council Tory leader Mike Bawden (Old Town and Lawns) remained unmoved.

"I wait with baited breath to see how much money is coming to Swindon," he said sceptically.

"In the past the Government led us to believe we would get more and we're still waiting. We'll deliver when they do."