Sir Simon Milton's resignation likely to cost taxpayer £10,000 (Westminster and City of London Liberal Democrats)

Westminster and City of London Liberal Democrats <info@westminsterlibdems.org.uk>

Sir Simon Milton's resignation likely to cost taxpayer £10,000

September 7, 2008 10:49 PM

Liberal Democrat campaigner Sue Baring in Lancaster Gate ward

Sue Baring criticises Sir Simon landing the taxpayer with a £10,000 bill

The decision by Sir Simon Milton to resign as a councillor on Westminster City Council to take up a new job for the Mayor of London looks set to cost the taxpayer £10,000, according to records obtained under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

The average cost of each of the last four council by-elections here in Westminster is £9,752. That is an underestimate of the likely cost of the Lancaster Gate contest however as the council was still awaiting some invoices from the most recent by-election, held in Church Street ward on 24th July, at the time they answered the FOI request. If that by-election is excluded, because its total cost was not known, then the average cost rises to £10,202.

Commenting on the revelation, local Liberal Democrat campaigner and Lancaster Gate resident Sue Baring said, "Some by-elections are, of course, unavoidable. A sitting councillor may die, for example, as happened in Church Street ward, or a person's family circumstances might change and they may need to move away from an area. That is understandable.

"Sir Simon is however just deciding to take up a new job. That is all very nice for him, but not for the taxpayer. The result is a £10,000 bill."