Westminster Conservatives write to PM over £100 million funding cut, as local Labour waste hits £56 million
Conservatives from Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth challenge Labour's funding cuts, as council warns of new Family Home Tax, Burnham's land tax plans, and £56 million of local Labour waste
Conservative-led Westminster have joined the Conservative councils of Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth in writing to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, challenging the Government's funding cuts to the city.
The letter, sent on 20 August 2026 and signed by the three council leaders, warns that Labour's Fair Funding 2.0 review has singled out Westminster for one of the biggest real-terms funding cuts anywhere in the country, with £100 million being slashed from the council's core budget. To fill the gap, the Labour Government is forcing councils to put up council tax and cut local services.
On top of this, Westminster Conservatives point out that the Government's new Family Home Tax (High Value Council Tax Surcharge), will disproportionately hit family homes in Westminster. Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s proposed land value tax would pile further costs onto working families across the City.
The three council leaders have asked the Prime Minister to direct the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, to review the settlement his Government has inherited, warning that Labour's approach to devolution risks becoming a mechanism for imposing higher taxes rather than genuine local control.
Westminster is also preparing to submit a formal proposal to the Secretary of State under Section 2 of the Sustainable Communities Act 2007, alongside Wandsworth and Kensington & Chelsea. The Act allows local authorities to formally ask Government to reconsider decisions within its power, such as the local government finance settlement. If the proposal is rejected, the councils have a right of challenge to a cross-party Selector Panel convened by the Local Government Association.
This is on top of Westminster Labour's legacy of waste. Cllr Fisher’s ongoing major contract and capital review has uncovered more than £56 million of Labour mismanagement since May 2026:
- £27 million wasted on the bankrupt Geoffrey Osborne housing contractor scandal
- £3 million overspend on contractor Keltbray, after Labour's Cllr Ormsby signed off work with a firm that had already been fined for bid rigging by the Competition and Markets Authority
- £8 million on the Mandela Way waste depot, after Labour signed off the project without basic groundwork checks
- £19 million raided from the council's reserves to fund a pre-election council tax freeze gimmick, with no plan to pay for it afterwards
In response, the council has launched its Budget Choices survey to ask residents directly what services matter most to them as this Conservative-led administration clears up Labour’s waste and deals with the Labour Government’s £100 million black hole.
Cllr Paul Swaddle OBE, Leader of Westminster City Council, said:
“We are holding Labour to account at every level, from the £56 million of waste we are still uncovering in Westminster to the £100 million now being slashed from our budget by the Labour government.
"Local people in Westminster face a real-terms cut to their council's funding, a new Family Home Tax, and could be hit by Burnham’s land tax as well.
"Westminster Conservatives are clear: we will stop the waste, deliver Value for Money and hold Labour to account at every level to build a City That Works for All.”
