Wandsworth Conservatives

Thank you

With your help and support, we had a fantastic result in Merton and Wandsworth. Over 75,000 votes cast for our Party and a majority of over 26,000!

We also played a large part in Boris Johnson’s success in becoming Mayor. None of this would have been possible without your help. The amount of support has been humbling, day after day and through all kinds of weather, so many people came out to campaign.

I am sure that this is the start of a great period for the Conservatives, for London and the whole country.

Thank you again.

Support for Boris Johnson has never been in doubt in this territory, but his arrival in Merton and Wandsworth on Monday was a truly great event.

Boris started his visit by joining an anti-Heathrow expansion protest with Justine Greening MP and a number of others including me right under the noisy flightpath at the Lennox Estate, Roehampton. We were not frustrated by any lack of deafening jumbo jets as we stood there with our banners - ”No to Heathrow Expansion”. A lot of local residents were there with us, very pleased to see that the future Mayor of London feels for their ears.

He then went on to visit one of Wandsworth’s highly successful “Hidden Homes”, valuable accommodation which has been created from unused spaces on the estates - former garages, pram sheds, drying areas etc. The current tenant of the property, who had previously been in a tower block with her young children, proudly showed her home to Boris. He was highly impressed by the innovative work of Wandsworth Council. We all wonder why the current  Mayor Livingstone can only pour scorn on the way these extra homes have been created.

Last, Boris went to a massive reception of supporters down by the River Thames at a Chinese restaurant in Battersea. The supporters were packed in to meet him, grasp his hand, and talk to him. The informal chat went on for about an hour before Boris spoke to the massed ranks, many standing in the overhead gallery. They cheered nearly every sentence as he spelt out his policies and his approach to change London from its present stagnant, tired and costly administration. He talked for about twenty minutes, and was then mobbed again as he moved towards the door to go home. Very many people there have since emailed and phoned me or stopped me in the street to say what a good night, what a lot of good serious policies, this man will make a great Mayor. Back Boris - join the Team. What do you think?    

You will have heard it before. Ken Livingstone and the Labour administration in London’s City Hall cost Londoners dearly. If you live in Merton, a quarter of your Council Tax goes to this Labour Mayor; if you live in Wandsworth, almost a half of your Council Tax goes to the Labour Mayor. Since Mayor Livingstone entered City Hall in 2000. he has increased the Council Tax by an extraordinary 153 per cent, while national inflation has yearly been  in low single figures.

This year, an election year, he has come up with a lower demand on our pockets, and his PR spin is that it will pay for more police officers. However, City Hall Conservatives have produced a ZERO increase which would deliver the same, or better protection.

The Conservative Group on the London Assembly has proposed “a budget for law and order”.  This includes an extra 500 warranted police officers on the beat to combat crime and gang warfare. This could be managed by diverting money from bureaucracy to front line services.  There would be no increase in the GLA part of Londoners’ council tax bills.

Conservative proposals are in stark contrast to those being put forward by Ken Livingstone.  

Our no-increase budget recognises the concerns Londoners have for rising violent crime.   In addition to the extra 500 warranted police officers we are also proposing 650 extra transport police, more safer neighbourhood teams, and increased use of CCTV.  In essence, we want less spin and more action in the fight against crime in London – and we demonstrate that this can be achieved without an automatic increase in the GLA tax.

That’s true Value for Money - and Boris Johnson and the rest of us are pledged to provide just that.

UPDATE 22nd February

Wandsworth Council has just announced a ZERO increase in the borough Council Tax for 2008/9. Unfortunately, taxpayers will however find their overall tax increasing - wholly because of the extra charge imposed by Mayor Livingstone. If only he could manage with the same skill and care for Londoners as Conservatives do.