Lambeth Green councillors have been resisting Labour’s totalitarian style of administration, promoting climate action, standing against far-right extremism and supporting local residents. Read on for the full details.
Statement of Solidarity
Scott and Nicole were horrified by the recent far-right, racist demonstrations across the UK. We sent a letter of solidarity to community groups and faith leaders in Streatham St Leonard’s, read more here.
Green Success
After getting four Green MPs elected at the last election we know that our movement is growing. We also came second in 39 seats, 18 of which were in London and one of the narrowest margins was Streatham and Croydon North, where Scott stood.
With Labour in power at national, regional and local level, they now have no-one else to blame. Greens at all levels of government will continue to be that strong opposition to austerity and status quo thinking. People on the side of progressive politics are looking for a new party. We are already Lambeth’s second party with 22% of the vote across the borough. There has never been a better time to build our capacity locally and get more Greens elected.
You are key to our success. If you’d like to get involved in any of the campaigns our councillors are leading on, please get in touch with them directly or at the contact address below. Be part of our growing success in Lambeth and across the capital!
STOP PRESS: Last night, Hackney elected a new Green councillor – the first Green by-election win in London since 2008! If you want to help in a local up-coming by-election or want to find out about becoming a councillor yourself, please contact us.
Green Party Conference
Nicole, Scott and several other Lambeth Greens enjoyed the conference in Manchester 6th – 8th September – some of the highlights were…
Greens Organise
Partly in defiance of the far right riots and Labour turning its back on working class communities across the country, a new left-wing group of Green Party members established Greens Organise – in the same room the first TUC meeting was held in 1868. See if you can spot Lambeth Greens in the picture above!
Policy Passed
Greens become the first politcal party to recognise Israeli government conduct as ‘Apartheid’ and ‘genocide’ in Gaza and back Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS)
Rejoin EU
Greens back rejoining the EU as soon as the conditions are right.
High-Speed Rail
In an extremely close vote Greens change direction on HS2, but warn of closer scrutiny of spiralling costs and habitat destruction. Find full details of the party conference here.
Council work
Labour Ignore Greens Motion
July’s full council meeting saw a very full agenda of important issues presented, including committee reports, constitutional changes, IICSA and special urgency decisions. Scott and Nicole spoke on every report and motion, however the Greens motion on Accelerating Climate Action was voted down by Labour who, as usual, turned a deaf ear to opposition voices. Read our press release here and follow this link to watch the full proceedings and access minutes and reports.
Committees Discuss Housing
Nicole attended important meetings for both Overview and Scrutiny (OSC) and Housing Sub-Scrutiny Committees (HSSC) over July where she questioned the targets in the inadequate New Homes Program and heard from local residents about the realities of temporary accommodation. You can view the proceedings and the submissions following the links to the OSC and HSSC pages.
Age-friendly consultation
Lambeth published its Age-Friendly strategy for consultation in July, you can find the Green Group’s response here.
Standing up for Child Abuse Survivors
Following news reports on Sky News and South London Press, Scott called into question the limits of Lambeth’s Redress Scheme aimed at settling claims out of court for victims of child abuse and asked why a former Lambeth social worker got away with systematically aiding and abetting paedophiles for so long.
Also, Scott continues to press the council to ensure that looked after children placed outside the borough are checked on regularly after the IICSA report highlighted ongoing concerns with such placements as late as 2016.
Green Wins
Article 4 direction to limit HMOs in Streatham
We have received a number of complaints about ASB resulting from the concentration of HMOs in Streatham. We therefore welcome the decision to make an Article 4 direction to limit HMOs in the area. You can have your views heard by responding to the consultation here by 7 October 2024.
Accountability and Transparency
We have been fighting for more transparency and accountability within the council and welcome this step in the right direction. Lambeth has introduced an Outcomes Framework that will require directorates to report on their work quarterly.
Lambeth-wide News
Cost of Living Support
Lambeth has announced another £5.3m in cost of living support for the 24/25 financial year. Find out more here.
Woodgate Call In
We made an exemplary call in to the Mayor of London on Lambeth’s planning decision on Woodgate tower, Streatham. We will report back on their response, here’s the link to our objection.
Brockwell park trees
The over-commercialisation of Brockwell park continues to concern councillors and residents. The Greens have called for a full investigation into the impacts of summer festivals on equal access to green spaces.
Clapham Park Development
This is one of the largest areas of redevelopment in Europe and, since the original Master Plan from 2008, the developer has continually sought to make ‘minor variations’. You may remember, Green campaigners tried to fight off the destruction of mature trees.
Residents are trying to stop further overdevelopment of the site – which is more than was agreed to in the original application. If you would like to help in this campaign, please contact Scott.
Local News
Complaints about waste and the lack of street cleaning
Following the transition to fortnightly waste collections, residents have been reporting high levels of missed collections, fly tipping and unsatisfactory street cleaning. We have met with council officers and they are investigating these reports with the contractor. We aim to bring a group of residents to the next full council on 16 October to highlight these concerns. Please let us know if this is happening in your street.
Streatham station lifts
Scott met with Network Rail, GTR, BAM Nuttall, Rubax, Streatham Action Transport Group and local councillors on 11 July to agree a series of measures to ensure maintenance of lifts including resources, training and patrolling. We are glad to report the lifts are currently working.
Fernwood Avenue
Councillors alerted Lambeth officers to the poor road condition on Fernwood Avenue and are happy to report that the potholes have now been filled.
Nicole and Scott could not do what they do without the help of members like you. Please get in touch to help support their work. For immediate updates, please click on the links below.
Best wishes – Nicole and Scott.
contact@lambeth.greenparty.org.uk