"Mr 38%" elected as Liberal Democrat Leader

Lambeth Liberal Democrats vote for a new leader

The Liberal Democrats have elected "Mr 38%" as their leader on Lambeth Council. Ashley Lumsden who was the Lib Dems' Finance Lead between 2002 and 2006 hiked up council tax by 38% during his tenure, making him the biggest council-tax hiker in Lambeth's history. He also "masterminded" the Liberal Democrats' disastrous election campaign which saw them trounced at the polls by Labour.

Councillor Lumsden's mishandling of the Council's finances meant that Lambeth wasted extraordinary amounts of money between 2002 and 2006 and had to hike up taxes to pay for it. The waste included £26 million on an unnecessary new office block in Vauxhall, £27 million windfall squandered on pet projects rather than bolstering the finances, £12 million lost this financial year because of a failure to properly account for debt repayments and £3 million lost in a housing fraud.

Despite his tax hikes Councillor Lumsden left the council on the brink of bankruptcy when he was kicked out of office at the local elections two weeks ago. Despite being challenged by Councillor Sanders, the split Lib Dem Group went for "Mr 38%" despite his long record of failure.

Councillor Steve Reed, Labour Leader of Lambeth Council said:

"Ashley Lumsden made a complete mess of Lambeth council's finances when he was in charge of them. He wasted millions, hiked up council tax and left the council on the brink of bankruptcy."

"The Lib Dems must be desperately short of talent if they've had to elect "Mr 38%" as their new leader."

"After four years when they only nominated white male councillors to their front bench, I am pleased to see that the Lib Dems have made a belated conversion to diverse representation. I welcome Councillor Braithwaite to her new role as deputy leader of the Opposition."

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