Haringey’s Lib Dems have welcomed the announcement that the council is to sharply increase its spending on graffiti as a victory for the opposition and yet further evidence that the ruling Labour council is being pressured into implementing key Lib Dem policies in the borough. Haringey’s new head of waste management told a meeting of the ‘Keep Highgate Tidy’ Group last week that the council would be allocating the extra money and was considering how it should be spent.

The Lib Dems had made graffiti, and Haringey’s inaction in tackling the problem, a central feature of their election campaign last May, when they gained seat after seat from the Labour administration. Their graffiti-fighting fact sheet has also proved very popular with residents. In Highgate, Cllr Neil Williams has been working with local residents’ groups, who have organised a clean up – after Haringey Council refused to tackle the problem.

The Lib Dems made a manifesto pledge that Haringey’s paltry budget of £15,000 would be increased to the London average of £203,000. While the council’s new £50,000 budget will be a start, the Lib Dems are pressing to see what the council intends to do with the extra money.

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson Lynne Featherstone comments:

“This new money is a step in the right direction, but is still at a level too low to tackle the graffiti problem really effectively in the borough. We will be looking to see how be this money should be spent. Nearly trebling the budget for graffiti is a sure sign that Labour are under pressure, and have been forced to respond to Lib Dem campaigns.”