Lambeth Greens strengthen anti–sell-off stance as XR’s Hallam channels community anger over street homelessness

Lambeth’s Green councillors have renewed calls to stop the sell-off of council homes, as campaigners in the community continue to channel growing anger over rising street homelessness and visible addiction in the borough.

The intervention comes hot on the heels of Lambeth Labour’s decision to auction another five council-owned homes and sign a £5.8 million deal with private landlord Woodstar Capital to lease 30 studio flats for homeless residents in Streatham, locking the council into a decade-long contract with a private company. Almost £105 million a year is spent on temporary accommodation, the vast majority of it going to private landlords rather than new social housing.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Cllr Nicole Griffiths for Streatham St Leonard’s said:

“The Greens support local residents who want council-owned homes to remain with the council. They are an asset to all, not just a private investor. Labour’s policy of supporting the private sphere over the public continues Thatcherite politics that no so-called socialist party should support.” – Cllr Nicole Griffiths, Green Party.

Housing campaigners say this over-reliance on the private sector lies at the heart of the crisis and point the finger not just at the current crop of councillors but also at Streatham MP Steve Reed, now the government’s Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who served on Lambeth Council from 1998 to 2012 when he entered Parliament.

They argue that years of failed housing policy at both local and national levels have entrenched the borough’s dependence on private landlords, with firms such as Denham International and Midos Estates Ltd each receiving over £37 million from Lambeth’s temporary-accommodation budget since 2019, a level of spending that critics say beggars belief.

Speaking of the council house sell-off, Cllr Scott Ainslie, Green Party Group Leader, added:

Labour promised more council homes after selling Lambeth’s Co-operative Housing and never delivered. Now more families are being evicted, and we will all be paying the price for Labour’s mismanagement, including the loss of public land that could and should be kept to support those who need council housing.” – Cllr Scott Ainslie, Green Party.

Meanwhile, Extinction Rebellion co-founder Roger Hallam and the Brixton Assemble campaign continue to draw residents together through weekly public meetings and activities (see below) on homelessness, addiction and community care, a grassroots movement pressing the council to act where national government has failed.

Unfiltered

Over the Tory austerity years, I often asked Labour people why the party didn’t advocate to end Right to Buy, to renationalise utilities, or reverse privatisation within the NHS. The most common answer I heard was some version of: “Let’s just get the Tories out, then we’ll take it from there.”

But one councillor said bluntly: “I’m a socialist, but we, the left, need to adapt to the realities of the market and the modern world.”

Credit where credit’s due. Lambeth Labour have plenty of brownie points in my book: free school meals, youth services, clean-air policies, diversity and inclusion work, and serious initiatives around violence against women. But that’s the problem. Labour may be culturally progressive, but economically it is, to a large extent, Thatcherite.

The unfettered free market isn’t going to lower rents or property prices, and it isn’t going to build council houses. The same market won’t bring down your food or water bills or look after the wrecked, wretched ghosts that haunt our high streets begging for money.

The market will, however, reliably keep wages supressed and keep billionaires in their yachts and jets.

Labour can’t or won’t confront extreme wealth any more than it will end Right to Buy or cap rents. And that’s why support is increasingly flowing toward the Greens, Your Party and the grassroots campaigns actually willing to challenge both the wealth structures, and the political choices that keeps councils relying on private landlords instead of providing homes themselves.

More Info

Thursday 13th November 7pm – Assembly meeting at the Black and White Café 75 Atlantic Road, Brixton SW9 8PU. Come along to meet others and feed in about your experiences on homelessness in Brixton.

Tuesday 18th Novembr 7pm – follow-on Assembly meeting at the Ghost Whale, 70 Atlantic Road, Brixton, SW9 8PX.

Monday 24th November 5pm – Brixton Party at Lambeth Town Hall. We’ll be making some noise about homelessness and whilst having a blast! Expect sound systems, and cake!

Gaining Petition Signatures – People will be going out every morning and evening to gather signatures by Brixton Tube if you want to help get past 1000 – Sign up to get involved.