Inquiry urged into £20,000 spent by Westminster on posters promoting the Conservatives

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Inquiry urged into £20,000 spent by Westminster on posters promoting the Conservatives

By Westminster Labour ⋅ October 4, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment
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Westminster City Council is spending £20,000 of Council Tax payers money to promote the Conservatives in the run up to the West End by-election and next year’s City Council elections, according to Labour Councillors.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, has written to the Council’s Head of Legal Services, Peter Large, to call for an immediate investigation into the Council’s £20,000 ‘Did You Know’ campaign through which over 3,500 posters have been put up in Westminster, including over 350 in the West End, promoting the Council’s political priority of keeping the Council Tax low.

In his letter to Mr Large, Councillor Dimoldenberg says that the expenditure of £20,000 of Council Tax payers’ money breaches the Government Code of Recommended practice on local authority publicity. Councillor Dimoldenberg says:

“I make my complaint on the following grounds:

1. The highlighted slogan on the poster – ‘You pay the second lowest council tax in the UK and we provide over 250 services’ – breaches section 16 of the Code. The level of the Council Tax set by the Council is clearly a controversial matter and, over the years, there has been a fierce political argument over the reasons for the low level of the Westminster Council Tax. The slogan on the poster clearly does ‘over-simplify facts, issues or arguments’ and does not “achieve the necessary degree of balance, or capture the complexities of opposing political arguments”, contrary to the Code.

2. The Poster seeks to have a “persuasive effect” and is counter to section 19 of the Code which instructs local authorities not to “use public funds to mount publicity campaigns whose primary purpose is to persuade the public to hold a particular view on a question of policy”. I also attach a copy of text of the Westminster Conservative 2006 Council election leaflet which includes the slogan “Excellent services, low taxes – Keep Westminster Conservative” which is remarkably similar to the Did You Know campaign poster slogan – ‘You pay the second lowest council tax in the UK and we provide over 250 services’. The intention, in my view, is to persuade residents to hold the Conservative Party view.

3. Contrary to Section 43 of the Code, the ‘Did You Know’ campaign has been launched just six months before the 2010 Council elections and at the same time as the West End Ward by-election. This contrary to the Code which makes it clear that “particular care should be taken” at these times to ensure that publicity “could not be perceived as seeking to influence public opinion”. The Chief Executive (who is also the Returning Officer!) tells me that 363 ‘Did You Know’ Campaign posters have been displayed in the West End Ward where a by election is currently underway.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg said:

“The Council has clearly breached the law by spending £20,000 of Council Tax payers’ money promoting the Conservatives in the run-up to the West End By election and next year’s Council elections. Why should hard-working Westminster residents pay for Conservative posters? I insist on a full investigation and for the Conservatives to pay back this money without delay. Those responsible for this blatant misuse of public money should be sacked.”

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