An opportunity to get back the £283m for housing

Published: 3 June, 2010

• I ALWAYS thought history was rewritten by the victors.

It would appear I was wrong as Chris Naylor seems to have done a wonderful job (Forum, May 27).

One has to wonder just how long the good councillor has lived in Camden or what interest he took in local politics before coming to power in 2006. After all, while noting that the last Labour administration sold off 9,000 homes (even though most of these were right-to-buy and therefore were out of the council’s hands), he appears to have missed the battle between tenants and council to stop the mass transfer of housing stock that went on for the decade prior. 

Most odd, especially as his register of interests clearly states he sits on the board of a housing association trust.

Moreover he would also know that the reason his party inherited this problem regarding council home interiors cannot be laid fully at any one door, being rather a consequence of several factors. First the intransigence of the Parliamentary Labour Party, secondly the determination of Camden tenants to have their homes remain under council control and lastly a local party trying to act at the behest of their masters, but also listening to and acting upon local opinion, something the LibDem-Con alliance singularly failed to do.

Even with this struggle going on a rolling programme of repairing and upgrading the exteriors of all estates was continuing.

Nor do I know how you could possibly be surprised at being removed from office so swiftly, not going into bat for the £283million owed to us, using Maggie’s infamous policy to flog off perfectly habitable homes with absolutely no consultation (and a lot were habitable, councillor), there is enough evidence available.

Add to that the cuts you made to much-needed services and only the most naive optimists in your alliance could possibly have hoped for a return to power.

Having said all that, you are now in a unique position. With the country finally seeing sense and removing Labour from power at Westminster you and your colleagues (in all parties but especially LibDem and Tory) can approach the new alliance and fight positively to get the £283million owed to us.

Already allocated, I might add, so not subject to the economic cuts now being made under the new administration. Maybe you can also talk some sense into those in power and get them to start building new council homes.

Will you do that? Will you act in the best interests of this borough and its citizens or will you do as Labour did four years ago and retire to the back benches to lick your wounds?

DENIS HODGKINSON
Bayham Place, NW1