[WCC]
A CRACKDOWN on dockless bikes and graffiti are among the first orders of business for the new Conservative-controlled city council.
Dramatic music, commissioned from a young student for the occasion, greeted councillors as they took their seats in the Old Marylebone Town Hall for the first time on Wednesday following the Conservatives’ election victory last week.
Their front bench, led by Paul Swaddle, had earlier in the day posed for photos in historic gowns (above). Red gowns are reserved for the leader, deputy leaders and past mayors, and the others in blue.
In his first speech as leader Cllr Swaddle announced a forthcoming “summit” on bikes in Westminster, and said: “We will convene a summit with dockless bike operators, set binding parking standards, and geofenced no-go zones, and impound bikes that block pavements.”
He said he would “demand visible neighbourhood policing in Westminster’s highest-pressure locations” and there would be a completely electric fleet of refuse vehicles brought in.
The new council would take “a zero-tolerance approach to graffiti” and a “100-day rapid graffiti removal programme across Westminster” will begin next week. There will be a review of “every major contract” signed by the council under the Labour administration.
Cllr Swaddle has an OBE and is CEO of the company Pocket App and has in the past been a judge on Lord Sugar’s TV show The Apprentice.
He was re-elected to Regent’s Park ward on May 8, a post he has held since 2018, having been a councillor previously in Wokingham, Berkshire.
On Oxford Street pedestrianisation and Sir Sadiq Khan, he said: “We have already instructed this council to explore every legal option available to challenge the mayor’s proposals. We will write to the mayor immediately dem-anding the full release of postcode-level consultation data. We will use every lever this council has to protect bus routes and ensure surrounding streets are not sacrificed for a scheme imposed without genuine local consent.”
He added: “Lord Mayor, the people of Westminster voted for change. A change in leadership. A change in direction. A council that listens, that delivers, and that puts residents first.”
Proposing the new leader, West End Cllr Tim Barnes paid tribute to the former leader.
Labour’s Adam Hug, saying “we are all very grateful for everything he did”.
Seconding the nomination Cllr Caroline Sargent, the new cabinet member for enforcement, spoke of how Cllr Swaddle had lost an election for his school council aged 11. “He carefully read the constitution, spotted a loophole, and saw that while council members were elected, the secretary had been appointed, and so managed to get himself on the council.”
