Same Old Labour waste £27 million through failure of due diligence
Labour-led Westminster City Council failed to uphold even the most basic standards of due diligence and Westminster taxpayers are now paying the price.
Labour councillors awarded a major contract to Geoffrey Osborne despite clear, publicly available warning signs that the company was already in financial difficulty.
Any competent council would have stopped and demanded proper scrutiny to understand the full facts before signing off such a decision. Labour did not.
The poor judgement, weak financial oversight and complete mismanagement have ended up costing Westminster taxpayers £27 million.
Labour took the decision, Labour signed it off, and Labour now seeks to blame officers for not spoon-feeding them rather than accepting responsibility for their own actions. This is an administration in office but not in power.
This was not a minor technical failure. It was a serious political decision taken in full view of the risks. Labour had the information available and chose to ignore it.
Labour’s error delayed affordable housing projects started under Conservatives and contributed to a worsening financial position at the Council, risking tens of millions of pounds for local services.
This fiasco comes as the Labour government will allow Labour-run Westminster to hike council tax bills by around 75% over the coming years.
Imposing higher taxes on local people to pay for Labour’s financial mismanagement is not fair. It is contempt.
This is the Same Old Labour story: higher taxes, poor value for money and no accountability.
Westminster deserves leadership that shows financial literacy, responsibility and respect for taxpayers. Not playground politics and excuses.
Westminster Conservatives will restore competence at City Council, protect public money and ensure real value for money for local people.
We will safeguard taxpayers’ hard-earned money and deliver services and projects properly without waste or mismanagement. Only Westminster Conservatives stand up for residents and protect their money.
