Now for change: Michael Poole-Wilson for Prince's

Lambeth Conservatives have chosen experienced local campaigner Michael Poole-Wilson to fight the Prince’s Ward by-election on June 4th.  Michael has lived in Kennington since 2002.

He is active in the community, has served as a school governor since 2006 at Lansdowne, a special school in Lambeth, and campaigned vigorously against cuts at St Thomas’s hospital (where both his parents once worked).

Michael works as a solicitor and is passionate about civil liberties – opposing authoritarian government policies on ID cards and detention without charge.

Lambeth Conservatives are calling for tough action to curb the growing menace from dangerous dogs

Lambeth Conservatives are calling on the Council to take tough action to curb the growing menace from dangerous dogs in parks and on some housing estates in the borough.

Councillor Clare Whelan, Environment Spokeswoman for the Conservative Group, says: “Some dog owners appear not to be able to control their dogs and a minority just don’t want to.

The police know it is an issue and it is their responsibility to enforce the Dangerous Dogs Act, but the Council can also do more.” The Conservatives are demanding immediate measures:

• Instead of cutting the number of Park Rangers they should be increased.
• Irresponsible dog owners should be fined and banned from keeping pets.
• Lambeth Living and other social housing providers could insist on micro-chipping as a condition of residents on their estates getting permission to keep a dog.
• The Council’s Anti Social Behaviour Unit must come down hard on irresponsible dog owners.

Councillor Whelan says: “We cannot have people being intimidated in this way. This isn’t ‘anti-dog’ and I am an animal lover myself. Most dog owners keep their dogs under control at all times and clean up after them. In fact it is often responsible dog owners who are making the complaints because they fear for their own pet’s safety.”

Labour is wasting money nationally and locally in Lambeth

Labour Lambeth has rejected a lawful alternative Conservative budget that would have cut Council Tax by 1.5 per cent to help hard pressed residents hit by the government’s failure to manage the economy.

Building on the example shown by Mayor Boris at City Hall, the Conservative budget proposed wide ranging efficiency savings with the elimination of “non jobs,” cuts in the wasteful publicity budget, and reductions in allowances paid to Labour Cabinet members.

At the same time, the Conservative budget maintained front line services and care for the elderly, disabled and vulnerable children and offered help to small businesses struggling to survive under an uncaring Labour government.

“Our Budget for People included £2 million more for road and pavement repairs, more investment in libraries, parks, and open spaces and £150,000 more for the youth service,” says Conservative Group Leader Councillor John Whelan.

“The Labour budget by contrast offered little for libraries and parks and no extra expenditure on the youth service.  This comes on top of the highest rent rises in the country – 17 per cent – with the average Council Tax now £1,235.  Labour even voted against our proposal to pay small businesses working for the Council in 10 days instead of a month.”

Rosendale Road Shopping Parade will benefit from a new pavement after lobbying by Conservative councillors

Figures from the Taxpayers Alliance show that in 2007-2008 Lambeth Council employed 335 people on salaries of more that £50,000 – some of them with five weeks holiday a year – costing a total of £22 million without taking into account their generous final salary pensions and other benefits.

Councillor Whelan adds:  “Spending on “consultants and agency staff” is out of control at Lambeth Council, but the Labour budget has delayed taking any immediate action.  Typically, a department hires a temp from an agency to do the photocopying for the summer while permanent staff are on leave – two years later the agency temp is still there.”

The Conservative budget proposed scrapping the fortnightly “Lambeth propaganda sheet” Lambeth Life saving £400,000 a year.

“When Boris took office one of his first actions was to abolish Livingstone’s pet newspaper “The Londoner” and spend the money instead on planting new trees,” says Councillor Whelan.

“That hopefully will be the shape of things to come if Labour lose office in Lambeth at the next elections in 2010.”

The reduction would help support local firms during the recession by stimulating the local economy, increasing cash flow and promoting stronger business links with the Council.

The demand is a key plank of the Conservatives “Shadow Budget” that will be put to the Council’s yearly budget setting meeting on Wednesday 25th February.

Leader of the Conservative Group, Cllr John Whelan, said:  “Businesses tell me that cash flow is the number one difficulty for them at the moment and prompt payment of bills really could make a very big difference for some firms.  Currently, Lambeth is failing to meet its own target of settling its bills in 30 days – a point conceded at the most recent meeting of the Labour Cabinet in Lambeth.  Lambeth really must do everything possible to help our local businesses’ and this would be a very straightforward and welcome start.”

Cllr Irene Kimm on the Rosendale Gardens Estate

Labour Lambeth let down tenants before it took power in 2006 by failing to tell them it planned to set up the deeply unpopular Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO), now called Lambeth Living.

Setting up the ALMO cost £1 milion at a time when the housing service was already failing.  What followed was a flawed consultation and a rushed ballot.  And in the meantime:

• Neighbourhood housing offices have closed.
• Late night opening hours have been cut.
• Saturday opening has ceased.
• Garden maintenance is appalling.
• Repairs have been cut – failing contractors.

Cllr Irene Kimm, Lambeth’s Conservative housing spokeswoman, says:  “Labour has presided over cuts in the repairs service, lousy performance by outside contractors, while cleaning and garden maintenance is practically non existent.”

300 squatters spent 6 months in Clapham's Limerick Court, costing Lambeth Council £500k

Labour bosses face an investigation over a possible overspend of £22m in housing budgets.  Houses were left empty while the council continued to pay private landlords for their use and it regularly took six weeks for new tenants to move in once occupants had left.

FACT: In one incident 300 squatters moved into Limerick Court housing estate in Clapham for six months, costing the council an estimated £500,000.

Critically, housing officials failed to do their sums properly when the Labour government cut benefit funding.  All these factors led to a shortfall of £6 million last year but the knock on effects may bring this up to around £22 million by March 2010.

An all-party group of councillors has recommended an investigation into the possibility of fraud because private landlords were paid for houses lying empty.  Their report says they were “astounded” at the “reckless” behaviour concerning the use of private properties.

Gipsy Hill Conservative councillor Andrew Gibson says:  “Make no mistake, Lambeth taxpayers will foot the bill for Labour’s mismanagement whatever the outcome of the official inquiry.  The vast majority of tenants have completely lost faith in the Labour council.”

There are rules regarding the allocation of this money.  The main ones are:

• No more than three projects per ward;
• No award to be less than £1,000;
• Essentially, only schemes within Lambeth are permitted. We also have to avoid things that are already funded from other budgets;
• Only capital schemes qualify: i.e., no scheme with revenue implications is allowed. The best example there is CCTV (disallowed because of related running costs).
• Tight deadline – all paperwork needs to be completed and sent by us to the Council by mid February and the money spent by May.

Andrew Gibson, a Conservative councillor in Gipsy Hill ward, says:  “A typical example might be a photocopier shared and maintained by community groups.  Any expressions of interest or ideas would be most welcome.

“If we cannot accommodate a particular suggestion in 2009 it may be that it could be considered for a future year if the funding continues.  Alternatively, we could lobby for its approval from a different source of funding.”

CLICK HERE to view a copy of the form that councillors have to submit to the council.  This gives you an idea of the information needed from you if you make a bid.

“Labour is spending money like a drunken sailor on shore leave, but it’s not their money,” says Stuart Barr. “Spin and propaganda such as the new tabloid Lambeth Life are costs an extra £200,000 a year. Labour councillors voted themselves huge salary expenses and they go on rising year on year.”

Meanwhile, many Conservative councils elsewhere in London are cutting council tax or freezing it. “Lambeth Conservatives proposed an increase of just 2.4 per cent without any cuts in services,” says Stuart. “This shows what can be done if waste and red tape is cut. The council has actually employed an interior designer at £40,000 a year – it shows what they think is important. Decorating the town hall instead of helping the elderly, disabled, homeless, and vulnerable.”

Labour-controlled Lambeth Council’s proposed council tax increase is the highest in London – and much of the increase is being wasted on gimmicks, greed, and spin.

Labour proposes that the tax should rise by 4.75%, well above inflation and above pension increases. London’s second highest rise was in Kingston at 4.4%.

Meanwhile, Conservative controlled councils are either cutting council tax (Hammersmith & Fulham is down 3%), or freezing it (Hounslow and Westminster).

But Labour is not spending its extra cash wisely.

• Propaganda costs are rocketing. A council-produced tabloid newspaper is now distributed fortnightly, increasing costs by some £200,000 pa.
• In a single day, the council advertised for “communications” staff whose full salary cost will be approximately half-a-million pounds each and every year.
• Labour councillors previously voted themselves huge salary expenses, and they carry on rising.
• The council set aside some £70,000 for a youth mayor – but spent around two-thirds of the money on advertising and admin, thereby cutting potential youth services.
• The council employed an interior designer at approximately £40,000 pa, instead of contracting out the work. When the refurbishment programme ends, Lambeth will be left with the most expensive “flower-pot arranger” in London.
• Within satellite budgets, money is wasted hand-over-fist. In at least one Lambeth school, misbehaving pupils are given foot massages in class time.

The Conservative Group has proposed an alternative budget that promotes efficiency, and cuts waste and gimmickry. As a result, it would protect front-line services and yet knock two percentage points off Labour’s budget-busting tax rise with a rise of only 2.44 per cent. For a second successive year, the Conservatives have offered a fully costed alternative budget that has received a clean bill of health from the Council Finance Dept (i.e., no financial “warnings” necessary).

Conservative Group Leader Cllr John Whelan commented: “Labour is spending money like a sailor on shore leave: But it is not their money. They have forgotten that the money comes from local residents, many of whom are financially hard-pressed. The council should protect services and cut waste.

“At the last election, Labour implied that they would cut tax, and now they propose the largest increase in London. As with the ALMO, they are sneaky and sly. Remember, this tax increase is in addition to (not instead of) previous tax increases Labour used to condemn!”

Conservative councillors are backing a campaign by the Local Government Association (LGA) which reveals on average for every one pound in tax that people in Lambeth have a vote over where it goes, seven pounds is paid in national taxes. This compares to one in every six pounds across England.

Cllr John Whelan says: “It’s high time local people were given more say in how their taxes are spent instead of allowing the government to spend taxes paid in one part of the country in another part as they choose.”

You can register your support for more local control over taxation by visiting the ‘My money went to Whitehall’ website where you can find more about the central-local tax balance in our area.

Chairman of the LGA, Sir Simon Milton, said: “All political parties are talking about giving more power to local people but a vital element of this debate must be about the level of control people have over the money they pay to fund these services.

“Every year, the amount of council tax people pay is the subject of powerful, real debate between citizens and their elected representatives. And yet income tax is the subject of a great deal less controversy.”