Listen to these voices

• I FIND it extraordinary that consultation about the future of our homes is apparently to be restricted to residents on the Homes for Islington (HfI) Resident Involvement Register and the employment of a “tenants’ friend”.  

Under HfI and the Lib Dems the once-thriving resident involvement network and residents’ forums have waned. I’ve seen people lose interest in community involvement because their views are ignored under the mantra, “It’s an HfI board decision”.

In my own experience it has only been fierce resident lobbying that has achieved any level of resident involvement, which ultimately has led to more effective management not less. Contrary to the cleverly worded statistics gathered by HfI to demonstrate its effectiveness – which even senior managers admit is “for their own purposes” – satisfaction with HfI is poor and many people feel disenfranchised.

I’ve met so many committed and hard-working tenants and leaseholders who have been willing to dedicate hours of their free time to improve living conditions for themselves and their communities who are not on the HfI Resident Involvement Register. 

I am proud to have had the opportunity to be in the same room as these men and women, so admirable are their aims and efforts. It’s therefore unthinkable and frankly wrong that these residents will not be given a say in the future of the borough’s housing and where they live. 

 In the national press we read about the “blue Labour movement”, which seeks to return the mutual and co-operative structure of organised communities gathering together for the greater good. Yet in Islington we appear to be sticking to the corporate “consultation” practices that have inevitably undermined our communities and sense of place. 

I’m publicly asking Islington Labour to turn back from this plan and actively listen. Not as a short-term strategy to push through the unwanted status quo, but to facilitate real change and a resident-led housing movement that can finally address the huge problems with housing in Islington.  

The new administration has a massive opportunity and huge political capital to make a real difference to the lives of thousands of people. Please seize it; it could make such a difference. 

JUSTINE GORDON-SMITH
Ilex House, N4