The Timidity of the Left

It seems that the criticism of Newham Labour councillors spurred a couple of them into action this week. Councillors Sasha Das Gupta and James Beckles tabled a motion at the monthly Group meeting.

It was entitled - “Motion 10: Draft Local Plan 50% Social and Affordable Housing”

You will note that this motion is clearly intended as a motion for council. This is important given the procedural games that were later played.

Readers will recall that Mayor Fiaz recently reneged on her promise to ensure that 50% of all new housing developments in the borough would be for council tenants.

Councillors Das Gupta and Beckles, it appears, wanted to hold her to account and change the policy, back to something approaching the manifesto commitment.

Here is the text of the motion:

Council notes:

1. The recent consultation on the Draft Local Plan proposing a lower proportion of social housing (32.5%) than permitted in the London Plan (35%) and the introduction of a new fast track approach for planning applications allowing schemes with only 35% Affordable Housing and a minimum of 22.75% social housing to get planning permission, with any deficit of affordable Housing from developers made up by developments on publicly owned land elsewhere.

2. The adoption of the Populo Business Plan by Cabinet which will allow Populo schemes with 36% Affordable Housing and 23.4% Social Housing to get planning permission

3. Much Council owned land has been or will be sold/transferred to Populo and it is this land that should provide the extra Affordable Homes

Council believes

1. That such policies and plans would make it impossible to achieve 50% affordable housing overall, let alone 50% Social Housing

Council further notes

1. That it is Councillors in Council who finally adopt a Local Plan

Council Resolves to urge:

1. the Cabinet to pause the Draft Local Plan and instruct Officers to redraft it with a commitment to 50% Social Housing

2. the Cabinet to defer the adoption of a revised Plan until after the next General Election

3. the Cabinet, meanwhile, to instruct Populo to withdraw its present Business Plan and rewrite it on the basis of 50% Social Housing, indicating clearly the additional resources required to achieve this.

4. the Cabinet to make available for public scrutiny both the Populo Living and Carpenters financial models

5. the Cabinet to lead a Council wide campaign for more resources for social housing.

6. the Cabinet to appoint Newham’s own dedicated in-house viability assessor

7. the Cabinet to instruct the Head of Planning to produce a breakdown of future

proposed housing schemes by currently known or estimated tenure and a future

monitoring process for affordable housing policies

8. the Cabinet to establish a process for regular member review and involvement in all

future work on the Draft Plan such that members are consulted on all the key issues

9. scrutiny of the decision-making processes which have led to a Draft Plan so out of step with the political and policy priorities of the Council and to make available to Scrutiny all necessary papers and records of the Council and Populo, in confidence if necessary.

The mayor and her allies, of course opposed this course of action, but when it came to the vote it seems that the members of Labour group had their own minds. In a secret ballot, reminiscent of the Labour Group elections, the motion was passed, by a margin of roughly 2:1.

It was then that Cllr Asser intervened. He might not be much good on policy or staff relations, or acting lawfully and honourably before the courts, or community relations, or getting the support of his Labour colleagues; but he does know about procedure.

Asser intervened and suggested that the motion was a motion for Group and not for Council. This was despite the fact that the text of the motion included the terms, “Council notes”, “Council believes” and “Council resolves”. It was despite the fact that the title to the paper read as follows:

Asser then invited Cllr Das Gupta to withdraw the motion.

And, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, Das Gupta obliged.

It is further evidence that Fiaz has lost the support of the Labour Group and increasingly relies upon the payroll vote who make up most of the 33% who vote for her. She struggles through because her opponents are out-manoeuvred, if not out-voted. But this is of little comfort to the tens of thousands on the waiting list for properties in Newham.

Councillors Das Gupta, Asser and Beckles.