News from Siân Berry: Questions raised about unfair housing ballot practices in Haringey

Sian Berry has called on the Mayor to step in following a ballot by Haringey Council, in which residents of the Love Lane estate in Tottenham have raised serious concerns about fairness.[1]

After campaigning from Sian and social housing residents across London, the Mayor introduced a right for people living on estates to vote down plans to demolish their homes.

There are guidelines for how these ballots are supposed to be carried out, and any councils who do not run a ballot are not eligible for Mayoral funding for housing regeneration programmes.

Votes should only count if these guidelines are followed, and ballots are carried out fairly and independently. However, residents have raised concerns and Sian will be asking the Mayor to investigate reports about unfair ballot practices at Love Lane.

Sian Berry says:

I am concerned to hear from residents of the Love Lane estate about their experiences during the recent ballot on demolition.

“I have raised problems with unfair publicity and pressure from landlords during earlier ballots with the Mayor and his team. [2]

“However, I’ve heard nothing as bad as this, where there are reports that some council officers were even handling ballot papers.

“There are serious doubts about the fairness of this ballot, and strong calls for it to be re-run so that it is fair for residents, which I support. The Mayor should urgently investigate these allegations.

“We worked hard to win a policy that gives residents a clear say in the future of their homes, but this means nothing if ballots are not run properly and if they leave residents feeling that their voice has not been fairly counted.

Estate ballots were brought in by the Mayor in 2018, after the publication of the Mayor’s Good Practice Guide to Estate Regeneration, and the introduction of a new funding condition in July 2018, which makes a ballot mandatory where any demolition is planned, as a strict condition of GLA funding. [3]

Sian believes the Mayor should look at the evidence being collected by residents on Love Lane and commission an independent investigation. If a fair ballot has not taken place, he should make sure it is re-run before any funding is released to Haringey council.