Merton Labour's record of failure

Affordable Homes

Labour were elected in 2022 on a promise to build 400 socially rented council built homes — they haven't built a single one. 

Meanwhile, costs for the project to build an initial 93 flats have spiralled out of control - more than doubled to over £611,505 per home making them some of the most expensive flats to construct in London.

Morden Regeneration

Despite their publicity campaign, Merton Labour hasn't put any money in the 2026/27 budget for Morden Regeneration. They promised a 15-year regeneration plan way back in 2008 and have delivered absolutely nothing. The £30m Labour claim to be investing in Morden isn't in the budget until 2029/30.

Breast Cancer Screening

Merton is the only borough in South West London without a dedicated breast cancer screening centre. Over a third of eligible women in Merton didn't attend breast cancer screening in 2023-24.

Housing waiting lists

In 2024-25, only 252 households were housed or re-housed by Merton Council out of 10,665 households on the whole of the housing register — that's just 2.4%. Merton has the largest social housing waiting list in South West London, four times longer than Kingston, Sutton, or Richmond. (DHCLG)

Street Trees

There are 2,500 vacant tree pits across Merton (As of July 2025 — Data from the latest Council Performance Monitoring Report). 

'Weekly' Street Cleaning

Merton Labour claim they are "cleaning every street, every week", but we uncovered that they "Rather than cleaning on a fixed schedule, we operate based on cleanliness standards" and that streets are only cleared if they show 'widespread distribution of litter and refuse, or detritus'. 

Council Tax Increases

Council Tax has increased by £364 in Merton (20%) for a Band D property in just the last 4 years. Merton Labour has increased Council Tax by the maximum amount every year, except election years. 

Child Poverty

Four-in-ten children in the Mitcham and Morden half of the borough are living in relative poverty. This is a figure that hasn't changed in decades.

Police Stations

Despite Merton Labour claiming that "the campaign to save Wimbledon and Mitcham Police Stations has been a success", both stations closed to the public on 28^th February 2026. On average, 900 crimes were reported in-person at the stations annually, plus many more non-crime reporting related requests for help and assistance.

Swimming Ability

46% of Year 6 children in Merton are unable to swim, according to Sport England. Swimming ability has fallen by 10% since 2022. 

Temporary Accommodation 

Despite clear warnings that demand for temporary accommodation would rise, Merton Labour failed to budget properly, leading to a £14 million overspend in just two years. (February 2026)

Fly-tipping 

Merton is the 9^th worst London Borough for fly-tipping [per capita] — 14,883 fly-tipping incidents were reported in 2024/25 and 91% went unpunished. There were more fly-tipping incidents — and more fly-tipping incidents per capita — reported in Merton than in Sutton, Kingston, and Richmond combined. (Government statistics - February 2026)

Missed Bin Collections 

Merton Council missed 14,302 bin collections in 2024, making Merton the fourth worst London Borough for missed collections. (October 2025)

Air Quality

Merton Labour's Air Quality Action Plan only met 'Minimum Statutory Compliance', and they voted down our £100k plan of fully funded measures, including air-quality monitoring. Labour cut a volunteer-led programme of air quality monitoring.

NHS Health Checks

Between 2021 and 2025, only one in six eligible Merton residents received their free NHS Health Check — barely one-third of the London average. (March 2026)

Tall Buildings

In Colliers Wood, Labour are campaigning against their own planning decisions. Labour's local plan they voted through in 2024 allows tall buildings at the site south of Britannia Point. Labour failed to work with the community to put in place detailed site rules giving a free-hand to developers. Since 2021, Merton Lib Dems have been arguing that appropriate heights for tall buildings should be set upfront across the borough. Labour voted against our Recommendation in November 2024 create Design Guides and Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD) on tall buildings. 

Damp and Mould

Clarion reported in April 2025 that 805 cases of leaks, condensation, or damp and mould had been identified in Merton. (January 2026) In one case, the Local Government Ombudsman judged that the Council provided "unsuitable temporary accommodation" which included damp in three rooms of the house. 

Complaints 

The number of official complaints the Council receives annually has risen by 57% since 2022, to 1,062 Stage One Complaints in 2024/25. When we raised this at Full Council, the Cabinet Member said he "prefers to talk about compliments". In 2024/25, 474 (45%) of Stage One Complaints were upheld. (March 2026)