Last month, I spent most evenings talking to residents of Newington ward as we campaigned for the local by-election.
Sadly, the picture they painted of Southwark was one of neglect and complacency. It is no wonder that the Liberal Democrats are the only party who had increased their vote share when the results were announced on June 29th.
We heard the same issues over and over: the lack of affordable housing, the unacceptable disrepair people are living with and the appalling lack of cleanliness on our streets. I’ve no doubt that the same would have been heard all over Southwark.
Yet time and time again, Southwark Labour claim the council has it all under control.
Everyone knows that we do not have enough affordable housing and we are simply not building enough either. It is especially apparent to Southwark’s Council’s housing boss, who admitted to a parliamentary committee that Labour’s pledge to build 11,000 new council homes is entirely “unfunded”.
Southwark housing boss admits council hasn’t got cash to meet 11,000 council homes promise
Despite my calls for transparency, Labour are determined to stick with their misleading slogan. They are taking residents for fools, keeping them in the dark about the reality of our current situation. They should apologize for misleading residents and take down their hoardings peddling this lie.
On our streets, we see litter and flytipping everywhere while rat infestations have sky-rocketed. But when our Liberal Democrat councillors tabled a constructive motion with common sense policies that could clean up our streets, Labour’s response left us shocked.
Labour’s response painted a fantasy of clean streets and a responsive council, who clean up almost all flytipping within 24 hours. When was the last time you saw the Council respond to anything this quickly?!
The situation with damp and mould is appalling and unacceptable. The Council are leaving thousands to live in Dickensian conditions.
Damp and Mould puts lives at risk.
Labour claim they’ve learnt the lessons from repeated, egregious failures that have left vulnerable people in dangerous living conditions. I know that the countless residents I spoke to in Newington who have been living with damp and mould for years would beg to differ.
Just this month, an 88 year old residents has had to go to Southwark News after the council has left her living with leak for over two years. I’ve asked the Council to report themselves to the Housing Ombudsman. The council clearly has a long way to go in tackling this blight.
The results in Newington were clear, Labour’s grip on Southwark is loosening. People are losing faith in the Labour, not least because they seem unable to acknowledge the reality for most living in Southwark.
The Liberal Democrats know this reality and we’re committed to improving Southwark. We remain the only party who can hold Labour to account locally.