Exposed: Merton Lib Dems’ Reckless Spending Plans
Have you ever wondered why Council Tax is so high in Lib Dem-run areas like Richmond, Sutton, and Kingston?
Council Tax is already too high in Labour-run Merton, so how do the Lib Dems manage to get it even higher?
The answer? Reckless spending. Kingston pays the highest Council Tax in London because the Lib Dems just aren’t responsible with taxpayers’ money. And Merton Lib Dems are no different.
Here’s just some of the things they want to spend Council funds on:
Expanding the Council’s multi-million welfare scheme for working-age people
Merton is one of a handful of councils which operates an expensive off-the-shelf welfare scheme, costing us £20 million per year since 2013.
Your local Conservatives want to replace it with a more tailored scheme, which saves money while maintaining support for pensioners, veterans, and other vulnerable people.
But the Lib Dems don’t think this costly scheme goes far enough. In 2025, they tabled a Council motion calling for a “more generous Council Tax Support Scheme,” with a trial run to be funded from Council reserves.
Link: https://democracy.merton.gov.uk/documents/b16901/Amendments%20Wednesday%2026-Feb-2025%2019.15%20Council.pdf?T=9 (page 4)
A programme encouraging people to claim even more benefits
A spiralling welfare bill is pushing up our taxes both locally and nationally. Labour can’t get a grip of it. And Merton Lib Dems want to spend Council money making it worse.
In February, they tabled a Council motion demanding that funds be allocated to a ‘Benefits Boost’ strategy aimed at getting people to claim more benefits.
Link: https://democracy.merton.gov.uk/documents/b17416/Complete%20Agenda%20Pack%20Wednesday%2004-Feb-2026%2019.15%20Council.pdf?T=9 (page 25)
Furnishing people’s homes for them when they move in
In February, the Lib Dems called for Council funds to be diverted from the Crisis and Resilience Fund towards what they called a “grant scheme to support local VCS organisations tackling furniture poverty.”
What, exactly, did they have in mind? One Lib Dem councillor bemoaned how people “move into a bare shell and have to furnish their homes from scratch, and when they move out they are required to move all their furniture and appliances.”
Watch: https://vimeo.com/1176724076
A £60 million scheme buying up local homes to convert them into social housing
Are you, or someone you know, struggling to afford a new home, or to get on the property ladder?
Stamp duty doesn’t help (we’ve got a plan for that). The Labour / Lib Dem Mansion Tax doesn’t help either. But you could probably do without your own Council using your own money to buy up local homes.
But that’s exactly what Merton Labour, backed by the Lib Dems, are doing. Both parties recently approved a £60 million plan, funded in part by Council reserves and even borrowing, to buy 146 homes in the borough to convert them into social housing.
Only the seven Conservative councillors voted against the plan.
Link: https://democracy.merton.gov.uk/documents/g4169/Printed%20minutes%20Wednesday%2004-Feb-2026%2019.15%20Council.pdf?T=1 (page 5)
Teaching people how to make coconut dal
Last month, the Lib Dems once again called for a raid on the Crisis and Resilience Fund to pay for “a fun, innovative in-person and online Cook and Eat classes” [sic].
Once again, you might ask what they had in mind. Bizarre scenes followed in the Council chamber as one Lib Dem councillor brandished a pot of his coconut dal, outlining his recipe which, he announced, families should prepare in the Lib Dems’ Cook and Eat classes.
Watch: https://vimeo.com/1176724399
The Lib Dems are offering more of the same as Labour. Even more reckless spending, inevitably followed by even higher taxes, even higher fees and charges, and worse value for money for local residents.
Your local Conservatives are offering a real alternative. Lower taxes, and a Council that’s more responsible with your money, focussing on getting the basics right: collecting bins, keeping the streets clean, and maintaining our roads, pavements, and trees.
On May 7th, the choice is clear: more of the same with Labour and the Lib Dems, or lower taxes and better services with your local Conservatives.