The former Labour leader of Wandsworth Council has been accused of spending thousands of pounds on a rebranding exercise and office enhancements shortly before his party lost control of the local authority. The incoming Conservative leadership has detailed expenses including a £700 door sign and £600 for personalized greeting cards, incurred by the previous Labour administration led by Cllr Simon Hogg.
The new Conservative leader, Cllr Peter Graham, stated that his predecessor's spending spree also encompassed £825,000 for a leader's office with six staff and a delivery unit, alongside an additional £25,000 allocated for a second office within the council's South London headquarters. Furthermore, the Labour administration reportedly paid £84,000 to consultants to lobby the Labour government regarding council funding.
Cllr Graham presented the branded greeting cards and a metal door sign featuring a new Wandsworth logo, ordered by Cllr Hogg, to fellow councillors. He indicated that the council had secured what he described as "the worst cash settlement for any council in the country" under the previous administration, forcing difficult financial decisions.
Additional expenses highlighted by the new leadership include £6,925 for tote bags, £7,790 for water bottles, £1,760 for baseball caps, £1,575 for umbrellas, £8,339 for T-shirts, and £890 for mugs. External signage around the town hall reportedly cost £11,324, with a further £10,569 spent on reception refurbishment and staff uniforms.
The previous Labour administration also allegedly made plans to relocate to a new office in Nine Elms. The current Conservative council has reportedly spent £240,000 to cancel this deal, with Cllr Graham noting that the council owns its current town hall and pays no rent, making the move to a leased property unnecessary.
Responding to the accusations, former Labour council leader Cllr Hogg stated that Cllr Graham was making "plainly misleading statements about the council's finances." He described the town hall as "the worst office building in Wandsworth" and called the scrutiny of previous spending "embarrassing."
The new Tory leadership is currently considering significant council tax increases, potentially as much as 160 percent, to address the council's financial situation. This follows claims by party leader Kemi Badenoch that the former Labour administration left the council with a £137 million budget deficit, exacerbated by a 40 percent cut in government funding.