Same Old Labour at every level: local waste of £56 million and Labour Government budgets cut of £100 million.
This week, alongside the Conservative leaders of Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth, I wrote to the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to challenge the Government's funding cuts on Westminster.
Labour government's so-called 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.
That is before you count the Labour Government's new Family Home Tax (High Value Council Tax Surcharge), which disproportionally hits family homes in Westminster hardest. And Andy Burnham's plans for a land tax will hammer home more costs for families in our City.
I asked the Prime Minister to direct Angela Rayner to review what his Government has inherited, so devolution does not become another word for higher taxes and less local control.
We are not stopping at a letter. Westminster is now preparing to submit a formal proposal to the Secretary of State under Section 2 of the Sustainable Communities Act 2007, to force the Government to reconsider this funding settlement. If the Government refuses to change course, we can take our case to a cross-party Selector Panel at the Local Government Association.
None of this excuses Westminster Labour’s legacy of waste locally totalling £56 million.
Cllr Paul Fisher's contract and capital review has now uncovered more than £56 million of Labour mismanagement since May, and counting:
- £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 CMA
- £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
This is before the Labour government imposes more tax rises on working families.
We have launched our Budget Choices survey to ask residents directly what services matter most to you, so that as we deal with a further £100 million black hole from central government.
The difficult decisions ahead will be shaped by your priorities, not Westminster Labour's legacy of waste. Make sure you tell the Council what matters to you.
Westminster Conservatives will keep holding Labour to account at every level, and keep delivering Value for Money on every pound, to build A City That Works for All.
Best wishes,
Paul
Cllr Paul Swaddle OBE
Leader
Westminster City Council
31 August 2026
