It’s now been 100 days since Labour took control of Wandsworth Council. It’s been a lesson in how quickly a Labour administration can unravel 44 years of good Conservative governance.
Since I was elected the new Leader of the Opposition in May, I’ve said we’ll work with Labour where it makes sense for residents - continuing the investment in high streets that we started, for instance. And our hardworking Conservative councillors are still delivering in their communities.
That doesn’t mean letting Labour off the hook. Residents are tightening their belts. The new Council should do the same. Instead, they’ve dropped value for money like a stone. We’ll be working constructively to get them to change course.
Labour’s £1 million vanity project
In their first 100 days, Labour have allocated £1 million to give their Leader 4 extra staff for the next 4 years. We were prepared to give them a fair hearing, but - despite us repeatedly asking for the detail - it’s unclear what these staff will do that hundreds of existing council staff don’t already. It’s a £1 million vanity project.
The only local resident whose life that £1 million is going to improve seems to be the Labour Leader’s.
Labour waste
In their first 100 days, Labour have been on a spending spree. But spending money is not the same as getting results.
Labour can’t explain how their £100,000 “citizens’ assembly” on pollution will actually make the air cleaner; how hiring 23 new staff in the housing department will actually reduce homelessness; or what their new “champions” (Labour councillors paid £2,800 extra each year) will actually do. Nor have they justified £100,000 in new grants to be doled out by a Labour councillor without the usual checks and balances by the cross-party grants committee.
Labour have shredded our flagship policy to build 1,000 new homes at no cost to taxpayers by building a mix of shared ownership, market and social housing. They’ve ditched the shared ownership and market homes. That means Labour need to fund a whopping 1,000 new council homes from the reserves.
And that ultimately means that there will be less money to freeze fuel bills and rents, as we did when we were in charge. Less money for regeneration and repairs to maintain our record that 100% of our Council housing met the Decent Homes standard. In their first 100 days, they’ve also paused a key milestone in our amazing Alton estate regeneration project, leaving thousands of residents in limbo.
Labour’s summer of strikes
In their first 100 days, Labour marched with the GMB union. The same GMB union whose parking warden strike is said to have cost the Council hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost revenue. Labour also joined the picket lines of the rail and Tube unions, siding against local residents that wanted to get to work, school or hospital.
Labour promises
In their first 100 days, Labour have backed away from the biggest promise they made during the election – to cut Council Tax next year. It’s always important to keep promises, and especially during elections, when residents place their trust in politicians.
Wandsworth famously has the lowest Council Tax in the country. With neighbouring Labour boroughs charging twice as much, Council Tax became the battleground issue of the election. Labour stole our clothes by promising voters the “Same Low Council Tax”.
But with days to go and barely a whisker between us on the campaign trail, Labour raised the stakes by promising to cut Council Tax by 1 per cent next year. In such a tight election, it made a difference. In their first 100 days, Labour has, astonishingly, twice refused to confirm they’ll make that cut.
Labour’s magic money tree
In their first 100 days, Labour have begun to plunder the Council reserves to fund their spending spree. That’s money we need to protect residents from debt and manage emergencies, as we did during covid.
When we ran the Council, not a penny of taxpayers’ money went out without us being sure it would make a difference for residents. We aren’t against supporting the new Council where it helps residents, but Labour’s approach is to splurge without explaining value for money.
The Wandsworth motto - ‘We Serve’ - is a reminder of the job politicians are there to do. Labour must keep their Council Tax promises, ditch the £1 million vanity project and focus on value for money.
William Sweet
Leader of Wandsworth Conservatives
