Except for national news, the text and photographs on this site are released under a Creative Commons Licence.
About
Wandsworth Conservatives have been delivering top quality services for local residents for almost 30 years.
Throughout this period the ruling Conservative Group has built a unique reputation for excellence in local government. Today even hostile Labour Ministers are forced to acknowledge the Wandsworth achievement.
The Government’s own watchdog – the Audit Commission - consistently ranks Wandsworth among the top-performing councils in the country.
Since rescuing the borough from a high tax Labour administration in 1978 we have consistently set the lowest average tax bills in the country. By putting the resident first and insisting on value for money in everything we do we have made Wandsworth the number one council in the UK for service and value.
None of this has been easy. We face obstacles at every turn. While central government is happy to load more responsibilities on councils, the money to support those activities is never passed across.
Ministers preside over a distorted funding regime which steers money away from high cost areas in London and the South East. While Labour-run authorities in the North benefit, Wandsworth is singled out for particularly unfair treatment – receiving the lowest possible grant increase each year.
In this harsh financial climate the council’s ability to run its affairs effectively becomes even more critical. We can do this by setting clear goals and maintaining a clear vision of what we want to achieve.
Our job is to make Wandsworth a better place – for everyone that lives and works here.
Making sure our own services do the job expected of them is the starting point. But if we are really to achieve an all-round improvement in our quality of life it also means getting the best out of all public services – whoever provides them.
Cllr Edward Lister
Leader Wandsworth Council
In 2003, the three Constituency Associations in the Borough of Wandsworth (Battersea, Putney and Tooting) formed a confederation for financial and administrative purposes, based at Wandsworth Campaign Headquarters, Gothic House, Summerstown, off Garratt Lane. This has meant that the administrative and campaigning operations of all three Associations has been conducted from one office, whilst political policy management, campaign planning, and candidate selection have remained with the individual Associations. The result of this Grouping as it is known, is a considerable improvement in effectiveness and even greater economies of scale, not least that the Grouping has been able to employ full time staff (Borough Agent and Deputy Agent), based in a single office. The cost and communication benefits have been considerable.
The Wandsworth Grouping is managed by a team of volunteers comprising three Association Officers from each Association, to include the Chairman, the Treasurer or Fundraising/Membership Deputy Chair, and one other Association Officer. In addition, the Council Leader Cllr Edward Lister, is ex-officio. The committee elects its own Chairman and Treasurer from its members.
Edward Hayter
Chairman - Wandsworth Conservatives
