Official report confirms that Church Street and Queen's Park wards have been "utterly let down" by Westminster Conservatives, says local LibDem Martin Thompson

6.20.22pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 24th Jun 2008

Martin Thompson says that the people of Church Street and Queen's Park have been let down by the Conservative-run council

Every part of Westminster 's Church Street and Queen's Park wards are amongst the most deprived areas in Westminster and England, according to a shocking new health profile of the area, released today [24th June] by the Government.

In Westminster, according to the profile, violent crime, children's tooth decay, and drug misuse were worse than across England as a whole. Hospital stays related to alcohol are now "significantly worse" than last year. Health inequalities were visible "by location, gender, level of deprivation and ethnicity", the report stated.

While the whole of Church Street and Queen's Park wards were amongst the most deprived areas of Westminster and England, parts of Harrow Road, Westbourne, Tachbrook and Vincent Square wards were also judged to be amongst the most deprived in Westminster.

Commenting, local Liberal Democrat campaigner Martin Thompson said:

"The Conservatives have been in control of Westminster since the council was created in the Sixties. They have had thumping majorities almost the whole time.

"The Tories have had over 40 years to improve areas like Church Street and Queen's Park, and yet instead the people who live there have been utterly let down by them.

"The level of deprivation suffered in one of richest parts of one of the richest cities on the planet is a disgrace."