Labour Budget Amendment Freezes Council Tax and Rents, Backs Highstreets and Cuts Waste in Mayor’s Office

Tower Hamlets Labour Group tables budget amendment protecting residents from a 5% Council Tax hike, proving the increase is a political choice, not a financial necessity, after the Labour Government delivered the biggest funding boost for local government in over a decade

Tower Hamlets Labour Group will table a comprehensive budget amendment at Full Council on Wednesday 25 February, demonstrating that the Mayor’s decision to break his flagship Council Tax freeze promise is unnecessary and driven by decisions he’s taken whilst Mayor, not by any lack of resources from central government.

The amendment, to be moved by shadow Cabinet Member for Finance Cllr Marc Francis and seconded by Labour Group Leader Cllr Sirajul Islam, limits the Council Tax increase to the 2% Adult Social Care precept only saving residents £4.2 million compared to the Mayor’s proposed 5% hike while investing in community priorities and cutting waste in the Mayor’s Office.

Cllr Sirajul Islam, Leader of the Labour Group, said:

“The Labour Government has delivered the most significant funding boost for Tower Hamlets in over a decade. The council should be in a position to invest in frontline services and keep the promise made to residents to freeze Council Tax. Instead, the Mayor has burned through nearly £64 million of reserves in a single year, racked up eye-watering overspends and now wants residents to pay 5% more Council Tax to cover the cost of his financial mismanagement.”

“Labour’s budget amendment shows this increase is a choice, not a necessity. We can protect residents, strengthen democratic governance, invest in our high streets and strengthen community cohesion, and still balance the books.  We aim to do this by cutting the waste in the Mayor’s Office, the spin doctors, the PR campaigns, lawyers and by scrapping his self-indulgent vanity projects.  That is what is rightly demanded in the Best Value objectives.”

We hope Opposition councillors from across the political spectrum will support our amendment.  However, if Aspire councillors do block it, I can assure Tower Hamlets residents that I will be implementing all these savings if I am elected as Executive Mayor in May.  And unlike Lutfur Rahman, I will never put up Council Tax by more than 2 per cent in any given year and I will also extend the support and reliefs to those on low incomes to ease financial the burden.”

Cllr Marc Francis, shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, said:

On top of the £36 million extra grant funding in its first full year (2025/26), the Labour Government has awarded Tower Hamlets Council an additional £40 million for the year ahead (2026/27).  It has also committed to invest at least an additional £64 million in the final two years of this Parliament.  Against this backdrop, it is indefensible for Mayor Lutfur Rahman to once again demand a 5 per cent hike in Council Tax, especially as it is on top of similar increases in the past two years.  If Aspire Party’s councillors back this increase, Despite Lutfur Rahman having promised to ‘freeze’ Council Tax, it will actually be nearly 20 per cent higher than when he was elected.

Labour councillors believe the only element which is justifiable is the 2 per cent precept on Adult Social Care.  At the same time, Labour’s amendment refocuses spending by Tower Hamlets Council away from promoting the Mayor and covering up the costs of failure.  Instead, the extra funding should go towards investing in improved frontline services, greater democratic accountability and events to bring our community together.  That is why we opposed Mayor Rahman’s plans to scrap the extra police teams on our estates and are now seeking to overturn his plan to scrap the Team tackling environmental crimes and anti-social behaviour.”

What Labour’s amendment delivers

Protecting residents from the Council Tax hike

  • Limits the Council Tax increase to the 2% Adult Social Care precept only, saving Tower Hamlets households £4.2 million. Mayor Lutfur Rahman promised a four-year Council Tax freeze in his manifesto in 2022.
  • Extends the Council Tax Relief Scheme so that the ASC precept increase from 2024/25, 2025/26 and 2026/27 is covered for those who need it most.
  • Scraps the proposed £10-a-year Blue Badge admin fee and £30-a-year Disabled Parking Bay fee charges targeting disabled residents which have no place in a decent budget.
  • Reduces the Wapping Bus Gate permit from £35 to £20 a year.
  • Deletes the proposed 4.8% increase in fees and charges that would have hit residents and businesses using council services.
  • Reduces the proposed rent increase for council tenants from 4.8% to 2.4%, easing the burden on social housing residents.
  • Freezes rents on London Living Rent properties at 2025/26 levels.

Investing in communities

  • A new £500,000 High Streets & Markets Business Support Programme to support local traders and boost our town centres.
  • A new annual Mela Celebration (£300,000) run directly by the council, bringing the borough together.
  • Bonfire Night Fireworks Display (£300,000) and Community Christmas Celebrations (£200,000), events for all of Tower Hamlets’ communities.
  • An Expanded Bangla Drama Month Programme (£100,000) celebrating our borough’s rich cultural heritage.
  • Implementation of the 2021 Somali Task Force Actions (£60,000) — promises made to our Somali community that must be kept.

Strengthening scrutiny and accountability

  • £100,000 for additional Housing Scrutiny plus new Finance and Environment Scrutiny committees, because a council under government intervention clearly needs more independent oversight, not less.
  • Protects five additional THEOs (Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers) planned under the Environmental Services restructure that the administration proposed to cut.
  • Deletes the Environmental Services Team restructure saving that would have weakened frontline neighbourhood services.

Capital investment restored

  • £17 million to restore the Neighbourhood CIL schemes that were cut in June 2023, projects chosen by local residents, scrapped by the Mayor.
  • £50 million for the George Green Secondary School rebuild that was cut in 2023/24, denying children the school they were promised.
  • £6 million for the Bancroft Local History Library & Archive refurbishment cut in 2024/25.
  • £13 million for the South Dock Bridge cut in 2024/25.
  • £2.5 million for an expanded Decent Neighbourhoods Project and £3 million for expanded estate CCTV, because tenants deserve to live in safe, well-maintained homes.

Cutting waste, not services

Labour’s amendment is funded by cutting waste and bloat that has no place in a council facing government intervention for financial mismanagement:

  • £1.4 million in additional savings from the Mayor’s Office restructure, reducing the total Mayor’s Office budget to £468,000. The current administration has expanded the Mayor’s personal office to an unprecedented and unjustifiable size.
  • Deletes £740,000 of Legal Services growth and £100,000 of market supplements for legal staff. A council with disclaimed audit opinions for five consecutive years needs to fix its financial controls, not throw more money at lawyers.
  • Scraps the £300,000 ‘Love Tower Hamlets’ vanity promotion, residents don’t need a PR campaign when they’re facing a 5% Council Tax rise.
  • Reduces the Bengali Communications Team growth by £385,000 to £120,000, a proportionate allocation that still invests in community language services.
  • Removes £556,000 of Best Value Investment spending including a part-time Director of Legal (£115,000), ‘cultural change’ roles (£129,000), and a £201,000 contingency pot – cultural change doesn’t come from consultants.
  • Deletes £114,000 for secretarial support for committee chairs an unnecessary perk for Aspire councillors at a time of financial difficulty.

NOTES TO EDITORS

ENDS

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