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Camden Council's £11k Taxi Tab: A Stain on Financial Prudence and Community Pride-The revelation that the Labour-run Camden Council spent almost £11,000 on ad-hoc taxi fares for its mayor and deputy mayor during the 2024-25 fiscal year has ignited a firestorm of criticism, especially within the borough’s prominent British Bangladeshi population. This lavish spending, which supplemented the work of an already employed full-time chauffeur, is being slammed as “extravagant and self-indulgent” against a backdrop of local council tax hikes and a £22.8 million overspend, Daily Dazzling Dawn realized.
The former Mayor, Samata Khatoon, a Sylheti origin Labour councillor for St Pancras and Somers Town, served during this period of high expenditure. Khatoon, a well-known figure with roots in the Chunarughat, Habiganj, Sylhet region of Bangladesh—a heritage she actively represents through her involvement with organisations like The Chunarughat Association—was at the helm when the council defended the nearly £11,000 taxi bill.
Camden Town, a geographical and cultural nexus for the British Bangladeshi community—one of London's largest and most visible—often prides itself on its hard-working ethos. For many within this community, the notion of senior local officials bypassing financial restraint for personal transport, while simultaneously increasing council tax by 4.99 per cent, is a source of profound embarrassment.
Conservative Councillor Stephen Stark voiced the mounting public frustration, questioning whether these officials consider themselves a "superior class" and highlighting the "shameful" lack of budgetary restraint. "Could these trips be taken using public transport or are these individuals considering themselves a superior class above those with ordinary jobs?" Stark asked.
The council’s defence is that the taxi company was used on an “ad hoc basis” to ensure the mayor and deputy, then Eddie Hanson, could attend a demanding schedule of 439 civic and fundraising events. They argue this method was cheaper than hiring a second full-time driver.
However, critics like the TaxPayers’ Alliance dismiss this explanation as inadequate. William Yarwood, media campaign manager, said, "Taxpayers in Camden will be absolutely livid that their council is spending so lavishly on what is an increasingly absurd luxury." He further suggested the council should transition to a taxi-only service for the mayor, removing the chauffeur position entirely.
The controversy casts a long shadow over the council’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and presents a significant challenge to the public image of officials, including those from the esteemed British Bangladeshi community, who are expected to lead by example. The focus now shifts to current Mayor Eddie Hanson and the council to justify this excessive expenditure to a taxpaying public and a community increasingly scrutinising its local leaders.
