The Conservatives are calling on the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to drop his plans to increase his share of council tax next year by 8.6% - almost TWICE the rate of inflation.
Under Sadiq Khan, the Mayor’s share of council tax has increased by 70.8% - from £276.00 in 2017 to £471.40 for an average Band D household next year. The Mayor has a £21 billion annual budget, and has thus far seemingly FAILED to recognise that Londoners are living through a cost of living crisis. The Conservatives have consistently called on Khan to freeze his share of council tax during the recent period of high inflationary pressures, but he has REFUSED to do so.
If Sadiq Khan managed London’s finances better, he would not need to increase his share of council tax to cover the impact of his poor fiscal decisions. Transport for London is a financial basket case - £14bn in debt and forced to seek over £6bn in bailouts from taxpayers. The Met is constantly asking for more money but wastes millions on overtime and recruitment because experienced officers are leaving in droves.
Sadiq Khan is using Londoners as a cash machine through cynical, opportunistic TAX GRABS. As I've previously discussed, his expansion of the ULEZ to outer London is an unfair tax grab on the poorest in our city, expected to rake in over £300m this year alone.
Mayor Khan and the Labour Party in London simply cannot be trusted to work in the best interests of Londoners.
