Aled Richards-Jones: Four years, 41 broken pledges – Wandsworth Labour’s record in office

Cllr Aled Richards-Jones is the Leader of the Conservative Group on Wandsworth Council.

Elections to Wandsworth Council have always been a straight contest between Conservatives and Labour. In 2022, Labour took control of the Town Hall after 44 years of Conservative administration, having made an unusually large number of specific and extravagant promises to residents.

As Labour’s four‑year term comes to an end, we’ve carried out a detailed analysis of its manifesto. The conclusion is stark: at least 41 pledges made to Wandsworth residents have not been delivered.

Here are just some of those broken pledges.

Broken pledge: “the same low Council Tax” and a promise to “cut Council Tax” in Labour’s first year

Labour has increased council tax every year since taking office, resulting in an overall rise of 8.2 per cenr. Despite this, the administration has claimed – year on year – to have ‘frozen’ council tax.

That claim has been publicly criticised by respected authorities. Radio 4’s More or Less examined Wandsworth’s assertion that council tax was frozen last year despite a two per cent rise appearing on bills, with presenter and economist Tim Harford OBE stating: “It seems mad to have to repeat this, but a two per cent increase is not a freeze.” Last week, the UK Statistics Authority took the unprecedented step of writing to a council, and told the Labour Council Leader that his taxpayer-funded deluge of leaflets, magazines and social media videos claiming that council tax had been ‘frozen’ for four years had the “potential to mislead” residents. Labour has refused to remove these claims from the Council’s website and social media channels.

Worse still, Labour’s economy with the truth extends to its plans after the election, which it hopes residents won’t notice.

Under the Government’s funding settlement, Wandsworth’s grant will be cut by £85 million a year by 2029/30 — more than the Council’s combined annual budgets for bin collection, street cleaning, parks, libraries and leisure centres. The Council’s own budget papers state that tax will need to increase by 86 per cent just to compensate for funding cuts. But when the cuts are added to Labour’s own Town Hall overspending, the Council’s own figures show a £137 million budget black hole, which would imply an overall council tax increase of a whopping 178 per cent.

Ordinarily, any rise above five per cent would trigger a local referendum. However, the Government has suspended that safeguard for Wandsworth and five other councils for the next two years, clearing the way for huge increases under Labour.

Broken pledge: “spend every pound of residents’ money wisely”

Since 2022, Labour has spent £1 million for new political advisors and increased councillor allowances by £175,000, with above‑inflation rises going exclusively to Labour councillors and a 172 per cent pay increase for the Labour Chief Whip. It has spent £9 million on a new inefficient bin collection fleet that caused a 500 per cent increase in complaints about missed collections. There have been persistent overspends across most council departments.

Nearly £3 million has been paid in grants to third‑sector organisations, most of it without scrutiny by the cross‑party Grants Committee. In one case, a £4,500 grant was personally signed off by the Council Leader for the Deputy Leader’s own charity to fund new carpets in a building the charity did not own. Conservative councillors then discovered that the money was then spent for another purpose, outside the terms of the grant award. It was eventually repaid only after 13 months, without compensating taxpayers for lost interest.

Broken pledges: a “rent freeze” and “the highest levels of service” for council tenants

Labour has never frozen council rents: it has increased them by the statutory maximum every year, amounting to a 24 per cent cumulative rise since 2022.

At the same time, housing services have deteriorated sharply. The Regulator of Social Housing has given Wandsworth the second‑worst possible rating, citing “serious failings”. This marks a dramatic reversal from the previous Conservative administration, under which Wandsworth became the first council in the country to meet the national Decent Homes Standard.

Broken pledges: “build the homes local people need” and a 50 per cent affordable housing target

Housing delivery in Wandsworth has collapsed under Labour, with a 43 per cent reduction in homes built per year since 2022. This reflects both the Government’s economic mismanagement which has increased construction costs, and Wandsworth Labour’s ideological hostility to private development.

One of Labour’s first acts in office was to boycott the opening of Battersea Power Station, a regeneration project expected to support 20,000 local jobs. Labour then sought to impose a 50 per cent affordable housing requirement on all new home developments, later reducing it to 45 per cent.

Even the Labour Mayor of London objected, warning that most scenarios tested against the 45 per cent policy were unviable and that it would likely reduce, rather than increase, affordable housing delivery. The plan was finally extinguished last month when the Planning Inspectorate ruled the 45 per cent requirement unlawful, finding it “not justified and would be counterproductive, materially impacting on the delivery of much needed homes”.

The damage, however, has already been done. Labour sent an unmistakenly hostile signal to developers, and home‑building in Wandsworth has suffered as a result.

Broken pledge: “You will decide what housing is built in your neighbourhood”

Labour has pursued the worst of both worlds: low overall housing delivery with aggressive unpopular over‑development of existing estates. It has pushed through plans to over‑develop the Ashburton Estate in Putney, including proposals to build on garages and a children’s playground. Residents responded with a petition attracting over 1,000 signatures and by replacing a Labour councillor with a Conservative councillor in a by‑election. In Roehampton, residents of Toland Square have been forced to campaign against proposals to build on valued green spaces, gathering a petition signed by more than 500 local people.

Broken pledge: “put more law enforcement officers on the streets… paid for by levies on property developers”

At the October 2025 Council meeting, after more than three years of no Council-funded police officers, the Council Leader admitted that he had abandoned this promise. He dismissed concerns about crime by comparing them to the fictional “Gotham City” – a remark all the more tasteless as it came just one day after a young man was fatally stabbed in broad daylight at Clapham Junction.

It doesn’t have to be this way

On 7^th May, Wandsworth has the choice to return to a Conservative council. Wandsworth Conservatives ran the council for 44 years, delivering the UK’s lowest council tax and value-for-money services.

Our manifesto won’t make promises we can’t keep, but will set out a credible plan – for fixing the finances, getting the basics like bin collection back on track, putting more police officers on Wandsworth’s streets, giving more renters the chance to own, and more.