London's Labour Mayor costs you nearly double (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

London's Labour Mayor costs you nearly double

March 23, 2004 12:00 AM

The amount of tax that Islington residents pay to London's Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone has almost doubled since he became Mayor in 2000. £241 of the Council Tax that Islington (Band D) taxpayers pay in 2004-5 will go straight to London's Labour Mayor, Ken Livingstone, and the Labour-controlled Greater London Assembly. This is almost double the amount that paid for these services when Ken Livingstone took over as Mayor just four years ago (a rise of 87%). The tax raised by Islington Council over the same period has risen by just 16%. The precept which goes to the Mayor and GLA is part of Islington's Council Tax level which is set tonight, but Islington Council has no control over its level. Cllr Terry Stacy, Executive Member for Performance, said "Nearly doubling tax over just four years is pretty breathtaking by anyone's standards. "The extravagant rises from London's Labour Mayor contrast strikingly with Islington Council's prudence over the same period." Over the last four years, the Liberal Democrat members of the GLA have consistently opposed the Mayor's huge rises in the London tax. Their plans would retain the extra money going into police and other services, but cut back on Ken Livingstone's extravagant publicity. Figures uncovered by the Lib Dems show that:

The London conference held at the QE2 centre in Westminster last December cost council taxpayers £105 for every person that attended. The Londoner newssheet, allegedly delivered to all homes in London, costs approaching £3m a year. The Mayor's press office employs 16 people ? more than the Prime Minister's press office at Number 10 Downing Street. The Mayor's advertising budget runs at an annual cost of some £18m.