Somewhat cheekily, Westminster s deputy leader Colin Barrow, writing on this page, offers Mayor Ken livingstone free lessons in budgeting. It s bound to be more tongue-in-cheek than serious, because Cllr Barrow knows, as everyone else in politics does, t
Somewhat cheekily, Westminster's deputy leader Colin Barrow, writing on this page, offers Mayor Ken livingstone free lessons in budgeting.
It's bound to be more tongue-in-cheek than serious, because Cllr Barrow knows, as everyone else in politics does, that the business of running London is very different in financial terms from running the borough of Westminster. This isn't a case of comparing like with like.
However, Westminster is to be royally applauded for freezing council tax for 2008/9, something Conservative candidate Boris Johnson is bound to use as ammunition against Ken during the mayoral election campaign.
Whatever the politics involved, this is great news for everyone who lives and works in the borough and Cllr Barrow is entitled to refer to the accolades handed out to Westminster for its financial management in recent years. There are lies, damned lies and statistics in every field of finance, but the number zero is one that is very difficult to argue with.
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