After declaring his intention to raise Londoners’ share of the council tax by 8.6%, Sadiq Khan provoked fury within the city.
Susan Hall, a candidate for mayor of London from the Conservative Party, stated that Khan was “treating Londoners like a cash machine” and that the rise was completely uncalled for.
The information was made public just one day after Khan, who oversees Transport for London (TfL), received a £250 million bailout from the government.
Ms Hall said: “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 percent since he was elected.”
She also pointed out that the tax increase comes after the raid on Londoners’ pockets earlier this year when he imposed the hated £12.50 a day ULEZ charge for thousands of vehicles in outer London.
Ms Hall went on: “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.”
Khan’s 8.6% increase in his council tax share is in contrast to the time when Boris Johnson was London Mayor and was able to freeze his portion of the rate.
Khan’s portion of a typical Band D bill will therefore rise by £37.26 to £471.40, or about £200 more than it was when he took office in 2016.
In the midst of a crisis caused by rising living expenses, the average council tax rate in 15 of the 33 boroughs of London—which are primarily run by Labour councils—is expected to exceed £2,000 per year.