Benefit cap is ‘Shirley Porter all over again’

Published: 14 October, 2010
by RICHARD OSLEY

THE introduction of tight caps to housing benefit in Camden was likened to Dame Shirley Porter-style gerrymandering at the House of Commons on Monday.

John Rolfe, a former Labour councillor who is now the chairman of the Camden Federation of Residents and Tenants Associations, made the comparison during a meeting organised by pressure group Defend Council Housing.

He warned that people claiming housing benefit in Camden would be forced to leave the area because the amounts available to those in need would not cover the cost of the borough’s expensive private rents.

Mr Rolfe said: “I know gerrymandering is quite a strong word to use but it essentially will change the fundamental make-up of the southern half of the constituency. We saw with Shirley Porter how the nature of a constituency could be changed.”

Camden’s Labour Party has traditionally, albeit not exclusively, enjoyed the electoral support of council tenants and those who qualify for benefits. 

As leader of neighbouring Westminster City Council, Dame Shirley was accused of stripping away Labour’s support base during the “Homes for Votes” scandal in the 1980s, the process of selling off large amounts of council housing at knockdown prices. Last year, current council leader Colin Barrow drew a line under the affair when he apologised for the policy.

Mr Rolfe was among a number of representatives from Camden speaking at the meeting in an upstairs committee room entitled: Hands Off Our Council Housing, chaired by Labour MP Austin Mitchell.

Labour councillor Sarah Hayward des­cribed the proposed benefit caps as akin to “social cleansing”.

She said: “It is strong and emotive language but I do believe this is tantamount to social cleansing. There is no other word for it. It basically says that people on lower income are not allowed to live in central London. The impact of that is, say you are a cleaner at a school and you are forced to move out to Barnet: are you going to continue working at the school or are you going to look for work in a school closer to home so you don’t have to pay travel costs?”

She said discretionary payments available for Camden to use on special cases would not cover the shortfall caused by the caps.

A report being prepared by officials for councillors at the Town Hall said: “Many claimants, especially in the south of Camden, will need to seek cheaper accommodation outside of Camden.”

Conservative leader in Camden Councillor Andrew Mennear dismissed the suggestion that the caps had been worked out to change the political landscape.

He said the benefits system needed to be reformed but admitted that the initial proposals had caused concern.

“To say the proposal is directly targeted at Camden is a bit far-fetched when Boris Johnson, the Conservative’s Mayor, has raised concerns about whether a one-­benefit-fits-all approach will work in London,” he said. “I don’t know what the levels should be but the mayor is talking this through with the government.”