This Wednesday Westminster City Council's Labour administration will set the council tax for the coming year. They have chosen to raise the council tax by the maximum legally allowed to help fund their pet projects and schemes that many taxpayers think are wasteful. They're doing this while also spending significant amounts of reserves that will leave the council in a less stable for the future.
Our team and I will be proposing a series of amendments that are based on the priorities that the people of Westminster have raised with us.
Firstly we have identified a number of savings that would enable us to reduce theincrease that Labour are proposing to 3.99%, which would be one of the lowest increases in London.
We are also proposing to increase spending to enable the Council to deploy a team to tackle badly parked dockless bikes. This team would use the powers that already exist to seize bikes and impound them until the operator pays a fine – something Labour have refused to do.
We have identified that Labour have not made any provision beyond next year for the massive impact that increases in the costs of national insurance, instigated by the Labour Government, will have on the costs of the Council. So we are proposing adding in a provision for this.
Finally, we are proposing a ring-fenced fund to fight any decision by the Mayor to pedestrianise Oxford Street – this would allow us to go all the way to judicial review if needed. Something Labour have not done.
We hope that Labour will listen, but fear that yet again they will arrogantly vote through their own proposals without considering the concerns of local people.
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PS Sir Sadiq Khan's consultation on pedicabs ends on Friday. Whether you're one of the thousands of local people who backed our campaign for regulation, or are worried about pedicabs, make sure you have your say and tell TfL to take action!
