Westminster’s councillors meet on Wednesday 11 November to debate a joint motion affirming that Zionism is not racism, and Leader of the Council Cllr Paul Swaddle OBE has set out six months of delivery and the budget pressures facing the city.
Six months after Westminster elected a Conservative administration, Full Council meets at 7pm on Wednesday 11 November at Old Marylebone Town Hall, Marylebone Road. Ahead of the meeting, Cllr Paul Swaddle OBE, Leader of Westminster City Council, has set out what local people can expect.
One voice for Westminster’s Jewish community
Councillors will debate a joint motion, submitted by the Conservative and Labour groups, affirming that Zionism is not racism. It will be moved by Cllr Hannah Galley and seconded by Labour’s Cllr David Boothroyd.
The motion answers the Green Party’s conference decision last month that Zionism should be treated as any other form of racism. Cllr Swaddle says that is “a shameful position”, which “brands most British Jews as racists because of part of their identity” and comes after the hate marches and attacks the Jewish community has faced in the city.
If the motion passes, Cllr Swaddle and the Leader of the Opposition will write jointly to Westminster’s synagogues and the London Jewish Forum to offer reassurance, and the Head of Paid Service will be asked to review the Council’s equality, diversity and community cohesion training and policies within six months. The London Jewish Forum has already welcomed the motion and urged other London councils to follow Westminster’s example.
“Antisemitism has no place in Westminster,” Cllr Swaddle says. “I look forward to every member voting for it.”
Six months of delivery
Cllr Swaddle says the administration is making progress on the four priorities it set out in May:
- Safe Streets: more than 1,000 dangerously parked dockless bikes seized, over £500,000 in fines paid by operators and on course for £1 million a year, a High Court injunction against illegal car meets, and enforcement action against anti-social behaviour up more than 270 per cent.
- A Clean City: 100 per cent of offensive graffiti removed within 12 hours of being reported.
- Value for Money: £56 million of waste uncovered through a review of Labour’s finances, and 520 non-frontline roles going to save £29 million a year.
- Driving Growth: a new Economic Growth Framework to back local business, and over 98.5 per cent of licensing applications approved.
The budget
The Labour Government is cutting Westminster’s core funding by £100 million over four years, from £219 million to £119 million. Cllr Swaddle says local people and staff are being asked to pay for the Government’s decision, and has thanked every member of the Council’s staff for their service.
In a cross-party campaign with Kensington and Chelsea, Wandsworth and Richmond upon Thames, the Council has formally asked Ministers to think again under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007. Cllr Swaddle is calling on Westminster’s three Labour MPs to back that case rather than defend their Government’s decision.
“I want Westminster to be a constructive partner to Government,” he says, “but we will always speak up for this city and we will not accept an unfair settlement.”
Come along or watch live
Full Council meets at 7pm on Wednesday 11 November at Old Marylebone Town Hall, 97-113 Marylebone Road, NW1 5PT. Members of the public are welcome, and the meeting is also shown live on the Council’s YouTube channel.
“Safe Streets. A Clean City. Value for Money. Driving Growth,” Cllr Swaddle says. “That is what we promised, it is what we are delivering, and we will keep delivering it as we build a city that works for all.”
