'Treating us like cash machines!' Sadiq Khan BLASTED for 'fleecing' Londoners with council tax hike
Campaigners call for freeze on council tax af
Sadiq Khan has been criticised for announcing he plans to increase council tax by £37.26 next year for an average Band D household.
Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall accused him of "treating Londoners like walking cash machines".
Khan said he had been left with “little choice” but to propose the hike as the Government had failed to provide enough funding for the Metropolitan Police Service, the London Fire Brigade and Transport for London.
The rise, which would see Band D households pay £3.10 more a month, is intended to cover funding in police, fire and transport.
Sadiq Khan has been criticised for announcing he plans to increase council tax by £37.26 next year for an average Band D household
PA
The Mayor of London said: “The last thing I want to do is increase council tax, but against the backdrop of the government’s refusal to provide enough support for London’s essential public services, I have no viable alternative but to use all the levers at my disposal to provide urgent funding from City Hall, particularly for the police.
“The Government has announced that policing in London is set to get just over half the percentage increase in funding compared to the rest of the country.
“How can this be right when the Met has had to undertake a huge amount of national policing activities over recent months without any additional funding from the Government?
“This is putting an enormous strain on an already stretched police service.
"That’s why I’m having to step in with additional funding from City Hall to ensure the police in London can bear down on violent crime, continue to reform and make our city safer.
“We are going through a challenging time in London due to the state of the national economy, the impact of austerity and the cost-of-living crisis.
“But I’m confident that this budget will not only support and improve our public services in our city, but help us to continue building a fairer, greener and safer London for everyone.”
But Hall told GB News: "Sadiq Khan is treating Londoners like walking cash machines, wasting money on spin doctors and PR stunts, while raising his council tax by over 70 per cent since he was elected.
"He's already fleecing Londoners with his unfair Ulez expansion, raking in millions off the backs of the lowest earners.
"We cannot afford another four years of Sadiq Khan. As Mayor, I will get City Hall's finances under control and get on with what matters - reducing crime and scrapping his unfair Ulez expansion on day one."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall accused him of "treating Londoners like walking cash machines"
PA
Policing in London will get just over half the percentage increase in funding next year compared to the rest of the country, the Mayor said, as the Government is maintaining the National and International Capital Cities (NICC) grant for 2024/2025 at £185million – a real-terms cut.
The Met has said the annual funding shortfall to support the additional costs of policing a capital city is now around £240million.
The Mayor's office has been contacted for comment.