Council accused of 'gentrifying' Islington

By Rosie Lavan

A LABOUR councillor has accused the Liberal Democrat council executive of deliberately selling houses in an effort to gentrify Islington.

Councillor Paul Smith, deputy leader of the Labour Group, was speaking after the meeting of the executive last week.

He said the executive was “making decisions first before consulting people”, and he attacked its “deliberate policy” of selling council homes – a practice that recalls Conservative government policy in the 1980s.

He said: “They’re selling houses off because they want to gentrify the area.”

Councillor Terry Stacy, of the Liberal Democrat executive, opened the meeting by highlighting the “excellent results” of the recent MORI poll on resident satisfaction with Homes for Islington (HfI), the body which manages housing in the borough on the council’s behalf.

But opposition Labour councillors immediately disputed this, and accused the executive of ignoring the fact that 13,000 people in Islington are on the waiting list for council homes.

HfI was introduced in 2004 as an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) and has been a source of controversy in the borough.

Islington council tenants were surveyed before HfI’s introduction and were promised new kitchens and bathrooms once the organisation was established. But many people were disappointed when it emerged that in order to qualify for the new facilities bathrooms had to be 40 years old and kitchens 30 years old.

Housing is one of the most contested problems in the borough, and while Labour councillors champion council tenants the Liberal Democrats and the local Conservative party are promoting the rights of leaseholders.

During the meeting Mr Stacy proposed the introduction of an organisation for leaseholders, similar to HfI.

Party politics dominated the meeting, and Mr Smith and his colleague and Labour group leader councillor Catherine West were vocal in their opposition to the executive.

During the meeting the council chair, James Kempton, warned Mr Smith that he would be asked to leave if he continued to shout across the chamber.

Labour councillor Wally Burgess, of St George’s, was not at the meeting but defended councillors Smith and West.

He said: “Sometimes the only way to get things across at those meetings is to stand up and shout.”