Ken's claims blow up in his face

On a rare visit to Bexley, the Labour candidate for Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, claimed Bexley Council was issuing more parking tickets than ever before.

In fact, as with much of what Labour claims, this statement is entirely untrue.

Here are the facts about parking enforcement in Bexley:

FACT: In every year since coming in to office, the number of parking tickets issued has fallen under the Conservatives

FACT: Bexley is now issuing the lowest ever number of parking tickets, with the income dropping every year as a result, exactly as promised in our election campaigns

FACT: When in charge of the Council, the Labour Party issued over 73,000 parking tickets a year - 25,000 more than under the Conservatives

FACT: Ken Livingstone and the Labour Council introduced the 800 metre Welling Bus Lane, which was enforced by 5 CCTV cameras, cameras that were taken away from community safety work

FACT: That Bus Lane generated an income of one million pounds a year for the Labour Council

FACT: The very first decision taken by the new Conservative administration in 2006 was to scrap the Welling Bus Lane, exactly as promised in the 2006 election manifesto

FACT: Bexley issues the fourth fewest number of tickets in London - Labour Councils like Camden or Lewisham issue hundreds of thousands of tickets a year

Mr Livingstone also attacked the Conservatives for freezeing council tax for residents.

That is not surprising as when he was Mayor, Mr Livingstone increased his share of Council Tax by 154% and the Labour Council between 2002 and 2006 increased council tax by 40% - in 2003 they increased it by 17.5% in one year alone, a decision the then Labour Leader of the Council described as the right thing to do.

On taking office in 2006, exactly as set out in the election manifesto, the Conservatives limited any rises to below the rate of inflation and, in fact, have not increased Bexley's share of the Council tax for the last two years - something every Labour Councillor voted against doing.

FACT: Labour councillors stood on an election committment to freeze council tax in 2011 only, yet after being elected, they voted AGAINST freezing council tax in 2011 - breaking their own manifesto committment!