Councillor Wellbelove with Kate Hoey MP on Willard Estate
Sixty per cent of people living in council housing in Lambeth are on benefits. Of those in work, many are on low pay, others have no work at all. Estates that were left derelict under Tory rule are now seeing massive investment thanks to Labour. But still, too many of our tenants live in conditions that are unacceptable. Living in a home that is damp, unheated or fitted with an out of date kitchen is demoralizing. It says to the people living there that they don’t matter. That’s why this Council, unlike the one that preceded it, has taken positive action to bring in the money to put things right.
We owe it to our tenants to give them the chance of a better home.
I regret the fact that the Liberals have called this meeting tonight to argue over whether ‘don’t know’ means ‘yes’ or ‘no’. That is simply irrelevant when the issue before us is how we bring in the money that will change people’s lives by improving their homes.
Can we please remind ourselves that every home that is improved will make a life-changing difference to the families living there. And the faster we can do it, the better. People deserve better than being left in cold, damp, out-of-date flats. Yet that would be the outcome of what these Liberals want.
The ALMO means we can bid for the money that will change lives for the better. We can bid for the biggest single investment in public housing in Lambeth’s history. I am appalled that the Liberals have decided to position themselves against the will of tenants themselves, against the interests of the poorest, and against the only chance we have to bring all our homes up to decent standards.
We need to get on and bring in the investment that will improve people’s homes and improves people’s lives in Clapham Town and right across this Borough. I’m proud to give my support to the ALMO that will make that happen.
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