London Mayor Boris Johnson will tomorrow (Wednesday 25 January) come under pressure from Labour members of the London Assembly over soaring six figure City Hall salaries, police cuts and huge fare rises.
As the Mayor faces questions on his final £14.6 billion budget, Labour Assembly members will highlight:
New figures showing a 33 per cent rise in the number of City Hall advisers earning over £100,000 a year
Boris Johnson's decision to cut 1,700 police officers in the last two years
New House of Commons figures showing a huge 26 per cent increase in bus, tube, tram and bus fares since 2008
Assembly members will seek to amend Boris Johnson's budget at City Hall tomorrow from 10am.
Labour members of the Assembly will propose to reverse the huge pay rises of mayoral advisers; cut transport fares by 7 per cent; put extra police in high crime areas, on the transport network and into schools; and tackle unemployment.
Labour's budget spokesman, John Biggs, said: "This is the last budget from a Mayor who is out of touch on jobs, pay and crime in London. The number of young people out of work in London has doubled on his watch, high pay is up by a third and police officer numbers are falling as crimes rise.
"Boris Johnson does not understand the pressures most Londoners are under - fares are becoming unaffordable and rents are extortionate. Not putting up his bit of the council tax is welcome as far as it goes, but a saving of pennies a week does nothing to ease the pain of his above inflation fare rises.
"Our budget shows it is possible to have fairer pay at the top and balance the books to cut fares for ordinary Londoners. The Mayor should take our suggestions on board."
Ends
Notes
- New research from the House of Commons Library shows that fares have risen by an average of 26 per cent since Boris Johnson was elected. Bus fares are up 50 per cent.
- Since 2008 there has been a 33 per cent increase in the number of City Hall staff earning £100,000 or more a year. There were 16 staff on six figure salaries when Boris Johnson was elected. There are now 24.
- In 2011 staff in City Hall and across the public sector were subject to a pay freeze. But Boris Johnson gave his senior advisers huge pay rises. His adviser on culture got a 55 per cent pay rise - taking her salary to £127,784 a year. His housing adviser got a 33 per cent pay rise - taking his pay to £111,000 a year, and one adviser's salary went up 7 per cent despite him being shuffled from transport to environment
- Boris Johnson admitted this week that he has cut 1,700 police officer jobs in two years http://www.lbc.co.uk/boris-admits-1700-police-jobs-lost-in-two-years-50…
- Met figures released last week showed a 15 per cent rise in muggings in the last year, a 17 per cent rise in theft and an 8 per cent rise in burglaries.
- A 1 per cent increase in the City Hall share of council tax would cost the average Londoner just 26p a month. By contrast, a zone 1-4 travelcard now costs Londoners £30 a month more than it did in 2008
- Crime figures from http://maps.met.police.uk/tables.htm Police numbers http://www.mpa.gov.uk/statistics/police-numbers/