Zero Council Tax rise only option for Westminster Conservatives after £17m is lost in Iceland

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Zero Council Tax rise only option for Westminster Conservatives after £17m is lost in Iceland

By Westminster Labour ⋅ February 24, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment
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Labour Councillors say that a zero Council tax rise in Westminster is the only option local residents will accept after the Conservatives lost £17 million in now-failed Icelandic Banks. Labour say that had the Council increased the Council Tax this year, at a time of severe economic conditions, there would have been difficulties in collecting the tax from residents who would have been very reluctant to part with more of their cash after the Conservatives had squandered a huge amount of money chasing the high interest rates offered by now-failed Icelandic banks.

Labour say that there are big savings to be made in Westminster in order to concentrate scarce resources on strengthening front line services to Westminster’s most vulnerable citizens. In particular Labour say that the £3.2 million a year Communications expenditure can be slashed in half, saving £1.6 million a year. In addition, Labour would scrap the £23,000 Civic Dinner and reduce the Lord Mayor’s Hospitality allowance.

Despite the zero Council Tax rise, the Conservatives have:

* increased rents by 25% for Church Street shopkeepers battling to keep their businesses going;
* imposed a £150 a year charge on local motorbike owners simply to park their bikes (this is equivalent to a 22% Council Tax rise!);
* demanded a 1,000% increase in rent for tennis coaches at Paddington Rec, thereby destroying their businesses.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said:

“There would have been riots at City Hall had the Conservatives dared to increase the Council Tax this year. Westminster Conservatives have yet to apologise to Westminster residents for losing £17 million of public money on failed Icelandic investments. Putting up the Council Tax would have been the final insult.”

“There needs to be a fundamental review of expenditure at City Hall. Spending over £3 million a year on a bloated team of ’spin doctors’ to peddle Conservative propaganda in the ‘Westminster Reporter’ is total disgrace when residents are losing their jobs and homes. And lavishing £23,000 on a flash Civic Dinner is completely obscene. The Conservatives just don’t get it – the party is well and truly over but they keep spending public money on themselves regardless of economic reality.”

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