Ahead of Wednesday's Full Meeting of Westminster Council, Cllr Paul Swaddle challenged Labour's failure to keep our streets safe. Paul explains,
Westminster Conservatives will be holding Labour to account for their failure to keep our streets safe and deliver effective enforcement.
Across Westminster, residents and businesses are seeing the consequences of weak leadership and crime that cripples our streets.
Labour has failed to deliver basic enforcement.
A lack of visible policing has left our neighbourhoods and high streets feeling unsafe, with businesses increasingly forced to pay for private security to fill the gap.
Safer Neighbourhood police officers are routinely abstracted away from local duties, specialist teams have been disbanded, and hard-won local expertise has been lost.
The result is less prevention, slower response and a sense that rules no longer matter.
At the same time, Same Old Labour’s policy failures risk making matters worse.
Delays in regulating pedicabs, enforcing short-term lets, and Labour’s focus on pet projects over street safety are undermining confidence and public safety.
Local people continue to raise everyday issues that Labour is failing to tackle, from littering and dog fouling to antisocial behaviour, drug dealing linked to rough sleeping and weak enforcement of the basics that affect quality of life.
Westminster deserves leadership that acts in the interest of local people. Not Labour pet projects.
That is why I have already announced that, if elected in May, I will appoint a Cabinet Member for Enforcement to restore focus, accountability and grip.
This is just the start of a tougher, more coordinated approach to street safety. I will deliver safer streets and a clean city for Westminster.
