That Odd 62 Pence

Written by Graham Tope on Fri 1st Feb 2002

If you had an extra 62 pence, what would you spend it on? A couple of bars of chocolate - or some low-fat yoghurts if you fancied the healthier option? And if you had an extra 62 pence every week of the year - that's £32.24 - you could spend an enjoyable evening out in our great city.

Ken Livingstone wanted your 62 pence. Already he receives millions of pounds in public money, but he wanted to increase the GLA share (precept) of your council tax bill by a whopping 35 per cent, taking a whole extra pound out of your pocket every week.

This week, the Greater London Assembly thwarted Ken's excessive demands and slashed the precept increase. The Mayor squealed that he needed so many extra millions to achieve his aims. However, more money alone does not equal better services.

We closely examined the Mayor's proposed budget to make sure that Londoners' interests are safeguarded and that taxpayers' money is spent wisely. He failed to show that he needed the extra cash to deliver effective public services. He failed to balance his spending against the impact on council tax.

So we slashed the Mayor's budget increase and reined back his expansion plans - but contrary to his whinging, we did not cut existing budgets. What we did cut out was waste and a raft of schemes to promote the Mayor himself.

The realistic increase of just 12 per cent (38 pence per week) agreed by the Liberal Democrats and Labour will still deliver extra funding for road maintenance. It will still ensure there are improvements in transport services, better door to door services for disabled Londoners, local improvement schemes for cycling and pedestrians and provide for more road safety initiatives and other schemes which are vital to Londoners. And there will be no cuts to the Mayor's budget for the police, so London will still benefit from an extra 1,240 officers on the street.

And we could go further... unless he proves that he needs a 12 per cent increase. He now has to come to the London Assembly on February 13 with his revised budget proposals. And if two thirds of Assembly members still find his budget unacceptable, we can force the Mayor to accept our demands.

London's an expensive place to live - according to new research by the Economist only Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong and Oslo are more costly. Council taxpayers will appreciate a little extra in their pockets.