Keen to back up claims that Lambeth Council has stabilised the finances after Lib Dems and Tories lost millions in fraud and left the council on the brink of bankruptcy in 2006, Labour’s Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Jim Dickson, today released figures that show that the Labour administration has paid back £126 million of long term debt in the past four years.
Cllr Dickson said ‘Labour has been paying back historic debt left by previous administrations, putting the council on the strongest possible financial footing for the future; something the Lib Dems jeopardised by leaving the council bankrupt after 4 years in power.’
And added that ‘because we have paid down this debt, we have saved in the order of £3million a year on servicing loans, so more money is available to spend on high-quality services that local people need including school places and youth services’.
Cllr Dickson released the figures ahead of the local elections on May 6th where Labour has, as one of its key promises, vowed to keep council tax as low as possible and to protect frontline services from ‘savage’ Lib Dem cuts.
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