At Wednesday’s (25/01/23) finance committee meeting, Labour councillors defended the Mayor of London’s 9.7% hike to his share of local bills.
At the committee meeting, Labour councillors voted down a Conservative motion to oppose the Mayor of London’s tax rise, which constitutes a 57% increase since Khan was elected in 2016. Wandsworth’s own council tax rate will be confirmed next month.
Labour was elected in May 2022 on a promise to cut council tax. In October, Wandsworth Council released a video in which the new leader, Cllr Simon Hogg, said, “We will keep the same low council tax, because we know it’s a tax that hits those on the lowest incomes the hardest”.
Yet when questioned last night, Labour’s cabinet member for finance, Cllr Angela Ireland, backed Sadiq Khan and refused to oppose his tax increase.
This follows Wandsworth Labour’s decision this week to hike council tenants’ rents by 7%, despite pledging in their 2022 manifesto for Council elections a “rent freeze next year”. Residents living near Putney and Wimbledon Commons face a further 11.7% rise in the levy added to their council tax.
Council officers told the meeting that government funding for Wandsworth had been more generous than anticipated, easing local budget pressures.
This did not deter the Labour administration from pencilling in a budget deficit of £4.3 million.
Commenting on the council’s budget plans, Cllr Peter Graham, the Opposition Speaker for Finance, said:
“Last year, Wandsworth Conservatives cut council tax and froze rents, at the same time as balancing the books. This was of real help to people struggling to pay their bills.
“Labour councillors said they agreed with that approach. Now they run the council, they are doing the opposite, despite getting more money from the government than anyone expected.
“For all their talk about the cost-of-living crisis, Labour’s actions are making it worse for ordinary residents. Having endlessly promised low tax, Labour councillors now back Sadiq Khan’s huge bills and are preparing their own.
“Voters have a right to feel deceived. It’s all very well for Labour to give more council grants to Citizens’ Advice and foodbanks, but not if their council is the reason for people needing to turn up there.”
