Andrew Dismore

Letter for publication:

why I have resigned as Chair of Fire Authority Resources Committee

It is a sad irony that in the same week we read of the accidental death inquest  verdict into the demise of  Mr Choi Yip, the 85 year old who jumped from his burning third floor Camden flat, we also read of the plans of a developer to convert Belsize Fire Station into luxury flats. Belsize fire station was axed under Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson’s last round of fire service cuts, meaning it took longer than it should for firefighters to get to Mr Yip.

What is even worse, also in the same week, the Conservatives have now imposed yet more cuts on the fire service – 13 fire engines and 188 firefighters’ jobs are to go – cuts we don’t have to make.

Working within the Mayor’s financial envelope, as Chair of the Fire Authority  Resources Committee,  I developed a Fire Brigade budget that both balanced the books and ensured no loss of front line fire engines. These proposals were approved by the Fire Authority, having won huge support from over 70% of Londoners in the public consultation.

In his typically dictatorial way, Conservative Mayor Johnson issued an  edict to overrule this budget and impose these unnecessary cuts.  Last week, the Mayor’s direction was accepted  by the Authority’s Urgency Committee on that Committee’s Conservative members and Conservative  Chair’s casting votes. Only the Labour members voted against, as the Lib Dem and Green members failed to show up. We are now stuck with the loss of so many fire engines and firefighters.

As I am not prepared to preside over the implementation of such a budget as the Mayor’s, which will be so damaging to the London Fire Brigade and the securityof Londoners, I have resigned from my position as Chair of Resources.

Let the Mayor  and his Conservative cronies on the Fire Authority  get on with implementing his  cuts to our emergency services- and let the people of London decide in the ballot box on 5th  May who really has their safety at heart.