Labour
Southwark council is working with property developers tearing up the local area
By Arthur Townend
Downloading PDF. Please wait…
Wednesday 19 March 2025
Issue 2947
On the housing protest in south London (Picture: Guy Smallman)
Housing campaigners are taking the fight to a Labour-run council in south London that is working hand in glove with property developers.
Around 125 protesters rallied outside Southwark council on Wednesday evening as it held a meeting to discuss development proposals.
The lively demonstration, filled with union and campaign banners, was organised by Southwark Housing And Planning Emergency (Shape).
Its immediate demand is that 50 percent of developments on private land, and 100 percent on local authority land, are council houses.
Tanya Murat from Southwark Defend Council Housing told the rally, “We want an end to overdevelopment and an end to the social cleansing of our community.
“We want to see homes for people, not for profit. The purpose of the market is to make profits for shareholders.
“But the purpose of housing policy should be to house people, to build decent and genuine affordable homes.”
Berkeley Homes is proposing a development in Aylesham Centre—but out of 867 homes, just 50 will be social houses. Other proposed developments such as in Borough Triangle, are set to have just 25 percent socially-rented homes
Neil Tasker, a Southwark council housing worker and Unite union rep, told Socialist Worker, “We’re in a cost of living crisis and we need more affordable homes. But the Peckham development is simply not delivering that.
“The council needs to go back to the drawing board, talk to the communities it’s supposed to represent and get a plan in place that does deliver.”
He added, “The only truly affordable homes are council homes—so the council needs to build them.”
“Affordable—what’s even affordable anymore?” another protester told Socialist Worker. “Just giving in to private developers won’t solve anything.
“Even these affordable homes are too expensive. I couldn’t afford them, so the obvious answer is council housing.
“There’s a whole housing crisis going on—this doesn’t affect me but what the developers are proposing is outrageous.”
Protesters were angry that the council is pushing more gentrification in Peckham. Sophia told Socialist Worker, “I’ve seen the attitude towards Peckham shift from something negative towards it being a hotspot.
Campaign takes on housing crisis in London
“The very people who built that culture are being pushed out and priced out. People from particular backgrounds are having to relocate.”
She added, “But if it’s not the community that fights back, who else it is? There have been successful stories before with community action.”
While Labour claims there’s no money to invest in public services and housing, it’s funnelling money into arms.
“Britain is the fifth largest country for military spending,” Morag from Homes For All said. “And Labour wants to put more money in while attacking the most vulnerable people in the country.
“We have seen what’s at stake with housing and planning policies. Fifty years ago, one in three people lived in council homes.
“Now, people can’t get a house—so young people will spend their lives worried about getting evicted.”
A small delegation from the protest went into the council. Before going into the meeting, Andrea from Aylesham Community Action told the rally, “Inside the deputation we are going to voice our demands.
“Most importantly, we are going to say that this planning and housing emergency needs full cooperation. It’s not enough to name and shame—we actually want to see real effort that the council can do something.”
She added, “This movement of people is going to be built even more—this is a London wide problem.”
Private developers are ravaging London, sacrificing homes and communities in the name of profit. And the Labour government and councils are letting them.
