City Hall's 'bloated bureaucracy' means Londoners pay more but get less: We need more police not deputy mayors

While families across our city struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, the Mayor continues to channel precious resources into an expanding bureaucracy. As theft and burglary skyrocket, the Mayor chooses to spend money on hare-brained schemes that fail to deliver tangible benefits to our communities across the Capital.

The Mayor's office has become increasingly bloated under Khan's leadership.

Did you know he has nine Deputy Mayors, countless Press Officers, and ballooning costs for back-office staff who command sizeable salaries and costs?

It's creating a top-heavy structure that drains resources from essential services like our frontline police. This expanding hierarchy comes at a significant cost to London's taxpayers, yet the benefits remain unclear - the departure of the Night Czar late last year for example represented an investment of over a million pounds in a single position, and for no tangible boost to London's nightlife.

Even more troubling is the rapid growth of administrative costs at the Mayor's Office for Police and Crime (MOPAC).

While Khan repeatedly claims to prioritize public safety, MOPAC's office costs have increased at a higher rate than increases for front-line policing.

This imbalance is particularly concerning at a time when Londoners consistently rank crime and safety among their top concerns, as well as increasing instances of bike and phone theft in London.

Rather than directing resources to put more officers on our streets, the Mayor seems content to grow his back-office empire.

Amongst the most egregious is the £24 million squandered on TfL Friday fare discounts – a scheme that Transport for London's own experts warned would prove ineffective, and which data afterwards proved was.

This represents millions of pounds that could have been invested in improving our transport infrastructure and rolling stock, rather than pouring money into discounts during an election year. Instead, it was spent on a publicity-friendly initiative that failed to deliver meaningful benefits to commuters and did nothing to address the fundamental challenges facing London's transport system, which has seen the Government force the Mayor to raise TfL fares above inflation rates after years of freezes.

The Mayor's misguided priorities are evident in virtually every aspect of his draft budget, which my colleagues and I have been scrutinising these past few weeks ahead of the final debate on the 25th of February.

When Londoners cry out for more police on the streets, he increases spending on MOPAC bureaucrats. When our transport system needs investment in reliability and maintenance, he pursues flashy discount schemes that experts warn won't work.

When small businesses need support to recover from the disastrous Autumn budget, he maintains his well-paid stable of nine Deputy Mators. These are not the choices of a leader who understands London's real needs.

Despite these questionable spending choices, Khan's response to budget pressures has been to increase the burden on already-stretched Londoners through higher council tax.

This comes at a particularly challenging time when households are grappling with inflation and rising living costs, and business confidence in Britain looks precarious.

Londoners are effectively being asked to pay more to fund an increasingly expensive bureaucracy that delivers less, and which doesn't feel like value for money.

The pattern is clear: while Londoners tighten their belts, City Hall's bureaucracy is bursting at the seams. Resources that should be directed toward improving public services, tackling crime, and maintaining our transport network are instead being diverted to sustain an increasingly expensive administrative machine.

Every pound spent on additional deputy mayors or growing office costs is a pound not spent on making our streets safer, our tubes more reliable, or our communities better to live and work in.

The impact of these misplaced priorities extends beyond the immediate financial costs. London's competitive edge as a global city depends on efficient public services, reliable infrastructure, and safe streets.

By prioritizing bureaucratic expansion over these essential needs, the Mayor risks undermining London's long-term prosperity and livability.

Our city deserves leadership that understands the importance of directing resources where they will have the greatest impact on Londoners' daily lives.

At every turn, the Mayor's budget choices demonstrate a fundamental disconnect from the real priorities of Londoners.

While citizens worry about crime, transport reliability, and the rising cost of living, Khan focuses on expanding his personal fiefdom at City Hall.

His priorities seem more aligned with building his own administrative empire than serving the pressing needs of London's communities.

As we approach next Tuesday's final budget hearing, Londoners deserve better than this misallocation of their hard-earned money. Our city faces real challenges that require focused, efficient deployment of resources. Instead of investing in more bureaucracy or failed schemes, we need a budget that prioritizes essential services and infrastructure improvements that will benefit all Londoners.

My colleagues and I look forward to setting out our alternative budget, which puts Londoner's priorities first.

The message to the Mayor should be clear from across our city: it's time to put London's priorities first. Next week's budget vote offers an opportunity to reject this misguided approach and demand a spending plan that truly serves London's needs.

Our city deserves nothing less than leadership that puts London ahead of City Hall empire-building.

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Neil Garratt AM, is the Leader of the City Hall Conservatives.

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