Keep Council Tax low
Keep council tax low and our finances strong.
Westminster Labour have frozen core council tax this year and if reelected we will ensure Westminster retains one of lowest Council Tax rates in the country while maintaining strong council finances.
In power the Conservatives wasted money on vanity projects such as the Marble Arch Mound, part of a £34m pound overspend identified by an independent review chaired by a former Council Chief Executive. They turned down housing grant funding from the Mayor of London by refusing residents’ ballots, while Labour received £120m in the last four years to help build new homes.
Under Labour’s stewardship Westminster Council’s finances are seen as the strongest in local government with the ratings agency Moody’s giving the Council the highest credit rating of any local authority and substantial reserves to provide financial security. We’ve been able to freeze the core rate of Council Tax twice in the last four years, ensuring Westminster has the second lowest council tax in the country.
We’ve kept council tax low while investing in the services that matter to local people and providing help with the cost of living crisis like free school meals for children aged 3-14 and an over £27m investment in targeted advice and support.
Labour has an ambitious Council transformation plan that will improve services and save over £30m by 2028 and a track record of raising commercial income and delivering efficiency in our services. We are working with councils across the country to maximise the proportion of the new Overnight Visitor Levy that is retained by local councils, something that could raise up to £90m a year for Westminster.
If reelected we will:
- Keep Council Tax low, ensuring Westminster retains one of the lowest Council Tax rates in the country whilst helping residents with the cost of living.
- Maintain strong financial management, improving efficiency while protecting frontline services.
- Keep our cost of living fund and support services, as well as our free school meals from 3-14 to help people