Lambeth Council Watch - news and updates about the 'co-operative' council

[CH1]

Which says quite a lot about the state of the C of E's various institutions, and little good!

Please elucidate. I haven't been myself, but I was told (via Twitter) by a churchman who was also leader of the council in the '70s that they've done a fantastic job at that church. Not sure what he meant exactly, but given they have also merged it with next-door St Stephens I guess its all in good repair and adequately staffed.

BTW one of my earliest local issues in Thornton was the late Jeremy Hardy and wife objecting to the extension of St Thomas's vicarage opposite them in Salford Road. But then I guess they were atheists.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Please elucidate. I haven't been myself, but I was told (via Twitter) by a churchman who was also leader of the council in the '70s that they've done a fantastic job at that church. Not sure what he meant exactly, but given they have also merged it with next-door St Stephens I guess its all in good repair and adequately staffed.

BTW one of my earliest local issues in Thornton was the late Jeremy Hardy and wife objecting to the extension of St Thomas's vicarage opposite them in Salford Road. But then I guess they were atheists.

Institutions - bodies of the church such as the Church Commissioners, who've been responsible for a fair few churches in the UK becoming investment homes.

 

[CH1]

Institutions - bodies of the church such as the Church Commissioners, who've been responsible for a fair few churches in the UK becoming investment homes.

Black Roof did St James Knatchbull Road about 25 years ago.
Dissappointing if the CoE are now selling buildings for the luxury market.

That said I believe Genesis started as a church housing association in Notting Hill and now new schemes are mainly market housing.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Black Roof did St James Knatchbull Road about 25 years ago.
Dissappointing if the CoE are now selling buildings for the luxury market.

That said I believe Genesis started as a church housing association in Notting Hill and now new schemes are mainly market housing.

With Housing Associations, that's for a very particular reason (and why the "non-profit" HA sector made about £6 billion in profit last year): Their upper management echelons receive "performance" bonuses. Performance bonuses are based on profits, and social-sector housing does not accumulate profits, and therefore does not give executives large performance bonuses. It's a pretty horrible vicious circle that most HAs have got into, and it's meant a massive shrinkage over the last 20-ish yrs in how much social housing gets built by HAs. It's why NH/Genesis, L&Q, Metropolitan, Peabody, Guinness etc have all pretty much crapped on their former non-market morality, and why they've followed local authorities in off-siting social housing on some of their developments, and poor-dooring others.

 

[BusLanes]

Twitter shows the great and the good of Lambeth and Southwark Labour parties out tonight.

I've also heard they have re postered the estates again today

 

[CH1]

Seems the turnout in Thornton was around 26%

 

[CH1]

Labour win in Thornton by 19 votes

edited 12 Apr to correct majority

 

[BusLanes]

So close!

 

[Southlondon]

So close!

And yet so far.

 

[BusLanes]

And yet so far.

Not all horses win races

 

[Southlondon]

Not all horses win races

But there’s no prizes for the also runs

 

[ricbake]

 

[BusLanes]

But there’s no prizes for the also runs

Win and a place

 

[CH1]

If anyone is into swing here it is:

Health warning - they don't say which previous election the swing is calculated from

 

[CH1]

This article seems to sum things up
Lambeth: Labour scrapes home from Lib Dems in latest Thornton by-election - OnLondon

 

[BusLanes]

This article seems to sum things up
Lambeth: Labour scrapes home from Lib Dems in latest Thornton by-election - OnLondon

Not a bad article. Labour's campaign technique is still working but the coalition it gathers in is fraying.

Would be interesting to see how they would cope with borough wide elections now with more to defend. I guess last time around they knew they didn't have to defend most of what they had seriously and whilst that would still be true (given there are what, 21 wards), there would be more fires to have to put out.

 

[Gramsci]

Thornton isn't my area so this almost victory by LDs is a surprise to me.

The TIG didn't stand. They aren't a party yet. The nearest to them is the LDs? So they got the vote a TIG candidate might have got?

Or was it voters punishing Labour nationally? As much as I support Corbyn his Brexit position does not go down well in a strong Remain area like Lambeth.

But looking at the Labour candidate she made clear she supports the Labour groups official position. Which is to have a " People's Vote"

See here:



Maybe voters thought that was all very well but its not what Labour party are doing nationally?

The article that CH1 posts up also says local issues might have played a part. The ongoing Clapham Park Estate "regeneration". I don't live in that ward so can't say.

The Green party did poorly. Despite in other parts of Lambeth being the party of choice for disaffected Labour voters. Also being Remain and supporting Peoples Vote.

It could be that in absence of a TIG candidate voters ticked the LD box.

Wanting a moderate Pro Remain politician.

I was talking to someone from DAWN yesterday. Chuka was having problems with the increase in local party membership. They were at variance with his kind of business friendly centre politics. DAWN is almost under Corbyn supporters control now. Recent changes have meant that party members have more say in DAWN. So Chuka was under threat.

 

[brixtonblade]

Thornton isn't my area so this almost victory by LDs is a surprise to me.

The TIG didn't stand. They aren't a party yet. The nearest to them is the LDs? So they got the vote a TIG candidate might have got?

Or was it voters punishing Labour nationally? As much as I support Corbyn his Brexit position does not go down well in a strong Remain area like Lambeth.

But looking at the Labour candidate she made clear she supports the Labour groups official position. Which is to have a " People's Vote"

See here:

View attachment 167597

Maybe voters thought that was all very well but its not what Labour party are doing nationally?

The article that CH1 posts up also says local issues might have played a part. The ongoing Clapham Park Estate "regeneration". I don't live in that ward so can't say.

The Green party did poorly. Despite in other parts of Lambeth being the party of choice for disaffected Labour voters. Also being Remain and supporting Peoples Vote.

It could be that in absence of a TIG candidate voters ticked the LD box.

Wanting a moderate Pro Remain politician.

I was talking to someone from DAWN yesterday. Chuka was having problems with the increase in local party membership. They were at variance with his kind of business friendly centre politics. DAWN is almost under Corbyn supporters control now. Recent changes have meant that party members have more say in DAWN. So Chuka was under threat.

Pretty cheeky putting out "protect children's services" when council is about to close 5 children's centres

 

[CH1]

Thornton isn't my area so this almost victory by LDs is a surprise to me.

The Green party did poorly. Despite in other parts of Lambeth being the party of choice for disaffected Labour voters. Also being Remain and supporting Peoples Vote.

1990 Thornton elected 1 Tory and 1 Labour councillor.
Lib Dems won Thornton in 1994 (still a 2 councillor ward).
In 1998 it went to Labour (still 2 councillors)
In 2000 there were boundary changes bringing in more of the Clapham Park Estate, and increasing it to a 3 councillor ward.
2002 There were 2 Lib Dems elected and Lib Peck (Labour)
from 2006 onwards its been Labour.

Hardly any of this is on Wiipedia incidentally - but the GLA publish the info for the whole of London by year Elections – London Datastore

Regarding the Greens, the candidate who stood this time usually stands every election and has polled as much as the high 400s.

On this occasion they may have felt it was a waste of resources to put out leaflets and do canvassing in a tight Lib Dem/Labour contest. The Green vote was certainly squeezed this time, though not sure who it went to (both probably).

 

[BusLanes]

The children's centre was the big local issue of the day in Thornton and across the borough, given the timing. I would have thought the Greens would have been able to run with that given their work elsewhere in Streatham on the closures.

 

[editor]

The cabinet voted unanimously to endorse the cuts to cries of “shame” from the public gallery



In photos: Save Cherry Tree Children’s Centre campaigners lobby Lambeth council, April 2019

 

[editor]

Bloody Lambeth Shut down Lambeth council’s reckless estate demolition programme, not children’s centres, say Lambeth Greens

 

[editor]

Lambeth still splaaaaashing it about

Lambeth Council splash out another £10 million on buying estate regeneration properties

 

[Gramsci]

Lambeth still splaaaaashing it about

Lambeth Council splash out another £10 million on buying estate regeneration properties

Had a first read of the report.

This looks to me like long term ending of Council housing as we know it for proportion of Council owned land/ property. What will happen to the rest when Council owned company Homes for Lambeth own a large proportion of what was Lambeth Council stock?

The long term aim is to transfer to Council owned Homes for Lambeth.

The report makes me wonder if Lambeth's first projections for money needed on buy back of leaseholders were to low. The Council is betting that not all leaseholders will take up but back. If the all did then the amount required would be so high the "regeneration" scheme might be untenable?

The reports say these Regeneration schemes will take years to progress. So properties bought back now will be potentially empty for years.

So discussion in report on , in the interim, renting out bought back property at market rent. Or using it instead of B&B for those houses by Council who are homeless. Council do use private landlords which is very expensive.

IMO this will create a new load of "short life" tenants as at Guiness Trust. Who will be aggreived when they are told to go at point building works start.

There is a whole load of assumptions in this report. I see these estates being in a semi permanent limbo. With leaseholders gradually going to be replaced by what are in effect private tenants. Not Council tenants with all the rights they have.

Another thing in the report is that the Council will drag its feet buying back leaseholders properties which are in poor condition to rent out at market rents temporarily. Does not explain how they are going to do that.

This looks to me like the gradual destruction of Council housing by a Labour Council.

 

[editor]

I missed this when it happened but how nice and cosy....

Former Barratt MD to chair Homes for Lambeth

 

[BusLanes]

Twitter informs me that the Momentum slate largely took control of Dulwich and West Norwood Labour last night. Anyone here in attendance?

 

[CH1]

Twitter informs me that the Momentum slate largely took control of Dulwich and West Norwood Labour last night. Anyone here in attendance?

Surely this had already happened, according to Labour Herald - sorry The Clarion
A new DAWN for left in Progress heartland

 

[BusLanes]

Surely this had already happened, according to Labour Herald - sorry The Clarion
A new DAWN for left in Progress heartland

I had thought similiar but apparently they didn't have all the key bits and now do. The article I read said they now control the Campaigns Forum, which if I remember from maybe last page's explanation from a Labour member, is where councillor selection is done. Which assumedly means they can deselect councillors.

 

[Gramsci]

I had thought similiar but apparently they didn't have all the key bits and now do. The article I read said they now control the Campaigns Forum, which if I remember from maybe last page's explanation from a Labour member, is where councillor selection is done. Which assumedly means they can deselect councillors.

I've posted elsewhere here that DAWN is increasingly under influence of those who joined due to Corbyn. The article CH1 links to brings up issue of Womens Forum. A lot of those who rejoined Labour party due to Corbyn are women.

This is disconcerting for the Progress lot as these women want an active women's forum.

Not the kind of Progress friendly feminism the New Labour lot want.

Hardly surprising Chuka left. All these people rejoining Labour party or young people joining due to Corbyn. No wonder he felt this was not the Labour party he wanted to be in. Him moving from left of centre to being happy joining up with Tories.

As local party member know said he was to business friendly.

He says the model of politics in this country is broken. But when his local party is invigorated by jump in membership due to Corbyn. People who want something different to the old centre ground of Blairism/ Cameron he can't deal with it.

On a Brixton level it might account for why my Labour Cllrs are now actively going out to find out what local community groups , like I'm involved in , want. This is new.

The whole New Labour project was based on the the middle class centre ground. Assuming poor Ward like mine ( Coldharbour) would just always be Labour.

 

[Southlondon]

I had thought similiar but apparently they didn't have all the key bits and now do. The article I read said they now control the Campaigns Forum, which if I remember from maybe last page's explanation from a Labour member, is where councillor selection is done. Which assumedly means they can deselect councillors.

The ward branches are where councillors are selected, but the Lambeth campaigns forum (LCF) interview and research all prospective labour candidates, They aim to weed out any potential dissenters before they even get to the ward selection meeting. Who ever controls the campaigns forum controls candidate access to the ward selection meetings. The wards can only select from the pool of candidates approved by the forum.