Following the CSR, radical plans have been announced for a new ‘super council’ in London. Under the plans the London Boroughs of Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Kensington & Chelsea would merge, saving up to £ 100m.
Some in a Labour camp see this as a sneaky move by the Conservatives to keep control of the London councils. While all the three boroughs currently have a Conservative majority, Hammersmith & Fulham was controlled by Labour until 2006 and there’s a good chance this could return to Labour in the next batch of elections. However if plans go ahead, Labour would still find themselves the minority party.
The Chief Executives of the three councils are currently examining the proposals and will report back in the new year. With £81bn of cuts being set out in the CSR and councils being hit with a 26% reduction in central government grants, maybe a merger is the only solution? It will be interesting to see if more councils follow suit.
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