‘Conservatives resort to making those on lower incomes pay’

• IN his letter (Council cuts must be seen in the context of the £6m mound fiasco, March 4), Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg already pointed out the impending rise in council rents.

Conservative-run Westminster City Council may claim that it’s providing “as much support and help as possible to our residents” to deal with the cost-of-living crisis, particularly soaring energy bills.

Yet what does it do? At the very same time these price rises kick in it is whacking its tenants with the maximum rise in council rent that is legally allowed: CPI, consumer price index, inflation plus 1 per cent rise in rents for council flats, shops, and other commercial properties owned by the city council. This means an average increase of £5 per week.

Worse, the letters tenants have received hide the rise in service charges by an even greater percentage for services that haven’t improved at all.

The council claims the rent rises “help regenerate and transform estates” and “build affordable new homes to meet local housing need”. Yet the Conservative majority deprives residents of a vote to judge for themselves if local housing need is really met.

To add insult to injury, they’re trying to justify the rent rise by a regeneration programme that neither delivers in meeting housing need nor invests enough in making homes more energy efficient to help cut bills.

By refusing to apply the only measure that would help those on lower incomes, a support package financed by a windfall tax on the big oil and gas companies who are reporting huge profits as prices rise, Conservatives resort instead to making those on lower incomes pay, and pay doubly.

ACHIM VON MALOTKI, NW8