Tower Hamlets has been exposed as the most wasteful London council when it comes to propaganda – after shock new figures revealed by the Evening Standard showed the borough spent £3.2 million on council publicity.
The figure—which accounted for nearly 15% of the figure for the whole of London in 2010/11—is £1 million higher than the next-highest spending council, Labour-run Camden. The figures were only released following Freedom of Information requests.
Conservative councillor for Limehouse Cllr Craig Aston said “This proves what we all know—the Respect-backed Mayor is pouring council taxpayers’ money down the drain on the propaganda newspaper East End Life, while neglecting vital public services.
It is outrageous that he thinks that Tower Hamlets can afford to spend millions of pounds so that week after week a newspaper full of pictures of him can go through residents’ doors.
It’s clear that Labour councils elsewhere in London think exactly the same. The Conservative alternative is clear—get rid of these disgraceful propaganda newspapers, and spend the money on front-line services.”
The Conservative Local Government Minister, Eric Pickles, has announced plans to bring in tough new rules to ban this blatant waste of public money for political purposes. He has said ‘What we will do is put these on a statutory footing and we will stop these Town Hall Pravdas’.”
I strongly welcome the Government’s moves to clamp down and ensure millions of tax-payers’ money is no longer wasted this way.”