The new Council, run by the Residents Association Political Party and Labour, are using 12 year old numbers from 2010 to suggest that they need to cut spending by £70m, without explaining that:

• The reduced government grant to London councils has been offset by the retention of more business rates and other funding streams for the Council.
• This year, the funds available to the Council actually increased, compared to last year when the Conservatives successfully ran the Council’s finances.

Where there are legitimate concerns about the bigger social care costs compared to other boroughs, our MP Julia Lopez has worked with all political parties to help represent the Council to Ministers. Your local Conservative Chairman, Dominic Swan also personally raised the topic with Michael Gove.

We are therefore pleased to report that from April onwards; Havering’s core spending power will grow by 9.5%, with extra revenue support grant and money for social care.

Labour and the Residents Association Political Party need to spend this extra money wisely.

The first change should be to stop spending our taxes on their “£70m” leaflet. Don't use the taxpayers' money to print and  deliver them to everyone's door.

In contrast, our leaflets are paid for by the local Conservative Association's membership fees and delivered by our local volunteers.