Why Westminster needs a Conservative reset
Today, Cllr Paul Swaddle OBE, the Leader of the Conservative Group on Westminster City Council, has written for ConHome on why Westminster needs a Conservative reset. You can read the article on ConHome here or below.
With less than 100 days to go until election day, Westminster faces a clear choice about the direction of our city.
Labour has failed to keep our streets safe and our city clean. It has wasted £27 million on a failed housing contractor. It has ignored local people on the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, surrendering to Sadiq Khan’s vanity project. And it has backed Labour in government as they pursue a politics of envy by threatening ordinary family homes in Westminster with a Family Home Tax.
But there is an alternative. A Conservative reset that will listen and stand up for residents, crack down on crime, clean up our city and restore proper financial management.
When I speak to local people about what has changed since Labour came to office at Westminster City Council in 2022, a clear pattern emerges: they feel less safe as crime spirals.
Phone thefts, public disorder and shoplifting have got worse while robbery, drug use and violence are frequent occurrences. People want to feel confident walking home at night, safe using their phone in public and able to enjoy local parks and high streets without intimidation or persistent nuisance.
This is the clearest evidence of Same Old Labour’s failure to keep people safe. Plenty of slogans, but no leadership or grip of residents’ concerns and a Labour council comfortable with decline.
Labour runs Westminster the same way Sadiq Khan runs London: slow to act, weak on enforcement and quick to blame everyone but themselves.
Anti-social behaviour hotspots are allowed to fester, theft feels normalised, and a lack of enforcement sends a message that rules no longer matter. Labour is managing decline rather than tackling it.
Westminster deserves leadership that acts with urgency. That is why Westminster Conservatives are putting safe streets at the centre of our plan. I have already announced a dedicated Cabinet Member for Enforcement to restore grip and accountability. This is just the start of a tougher, more focused approach to keeping our streets safe.
Strong policing is vital, but so is enforcement that shapes the public realm.
The chaos of dangerous and obstructive dockless bikes blocking pavements is one example. Residents and families should not have to navigate a jungle of bikes left without consequence.
The only action Westminster Labour has taken is to bend to Conservative calls to begin fining dockless bike operators. But even this is not enforced. Labour promised over £1 million of fine revenue but has barely generated £5,000. This is the reality of a weak Labour council that cannot deliver on its promises as unpaid fines pile up and dockless bikes remain littered on our streets.
The same pattern appears when Labour is asked to stand up for Westminster.
Labour councillors surrendered control of Oxford Street to City Hall and prevented scrutiny by classifying the decision as minor. Local people and businesses deserved a serious debate about accessibility, transport and the future of our local high street. Instead, Westminster Labour took away their right to representation and surrendered to Sadiq Khan’s pet project.
Value for money is a test of competence. Westminster Labour have failed that test.
Westminster residents are now being asked to pay the price for Labour’s financial mismanagement as council tax is expected to rise by 75 per cent over the next four years. At the same time, the Labour Cabinet has given itself a 45 per cent pay rise while presiding over weak oversight, including the Geoffrey Osborne scandal, where Labour signed off a contract with a failing contractor that cost residents £27 million and should never have been approved.
People rightly ask how they can be expected to pay more when Labour cannot demonstrate basic financial discipline. Labour led Westminster is trapping local people in the Same Old Labour nightmare: higher bills to pay for failure and drifting decline due to absent leadership.
Labour at every level is also holding Westminster families to ransom.
The proposed Family Home Tax is being sold as fairness. But in Westminster, where nearly 4,000 family homes are at risk, it would hit residents, pensioners and families who have worked hard to put down roots. Labour-led Westminster Council has stood by while its government pursues a politics of envy by lining up local families for a Family Home Tax and putting party loyalty ahead of Westminster residents.
On top of all this are pressures local people experience every day. Illegal short-term lets are running rife while enforcement is neglected and the homelessness crisis has spiralled with Westminster now recording the highest number of rough sleepers in the UK.
Tackling this demands an approach that supports vulnerable people while addressing the organised exploitation that often sits behind street homelessness. Yet Labour offers more rhetoric than solutions and allows residents’ concerns to worsen rather than take the tough decisions needed to turn it around.
The Conservative alternative: safe streets, a clean city and real action
Westminster Conservatives’ vision is rooted in one principle: local people deserve safe streets, a clean city and real action. That means a relentless focus on crime and disorder, stronger enforcement and a council that uses every lever to support policing and reduce repeat offending. It means treating antisocial behaviour as a priority and taking firm action where rules are ignored.
It also means restoring trust by listening. Westminster Conservatives are building our Plan for Westminster 2026 around the real concerns residents raise and what works in practice, from cracking down on illegal short-term lets to transparent decision making that respects local voices. We will back our businesses, high streets, and demand value for money with disciplined procurement.
My ambition is about being honest with local people on how Labour is failing Westminster. It is to listen to residents and to deliver a Conservative council that acts on its promises. In Westminster, that starts with a Conservative reset focused on safe streets and a clean city that is delivered through real action.
Share your thoughts with me and my team: www.westm.news/Listening
