Merseyside also decided on 7 March not to defy the cap but to set a £213m budget substantially lower than the limit: the precept was 73p which was much lower than the cap of 82.86p,[REF] meaning rates rose by 11% instead of the 27% which was allowed [REF].
Just as the tactic of not setting a rate became popular among the councils subject to rate-capping, the Government suffered a defeat in the House of Lords which gave the GLC an extra year of existence and subjecting it to budgeting and rate-capping for 1985-86.