LFEPA votes on the proposals on the 21st January. Labour the Greens & the Liberal Democrats oppose the proposals but under the rules the Mayor can force the changes through despite being in a minority.
The London Fire Brigade's budget has been cut by the Mayor and the coalition government by £45 million over the next two years. Even after the 12 stations, 18 fire appliances and 400 firefighters have been cut the Mayor and LFEPA will still have to find over £5 million of cuts. On average it costs £1.4 million to run a one fire engine station.
Green GLA member Darren Johnson said: “The public are desperately worried about these closures. Rather than cutting council tax the mayor should be providing the funding to keep these fire stations open. The closures are completely unnecessary but the mayor seems more interested in council tax cuts than London's safety.