Kane Newman shouts from the balcony

A PROTESTER was escorted out of the Town Hall’s public gallery after disrupting the mayor-making ceremony.

Kane Newman, North London Field Organiser for housing campaign group ACORN, shouted from the balcony as proceedings were getting under way last Thursday. He accused the council of failing to provide residents with decent accommodation, leaving them living with damp, mould, and overcrowding.

Meanwhile, other protesters who had gathered on the steps of the Town Hall, said that they were barred from the meeting, with council officials telling them that there was not enough space. The public gallery was at about half capacity.

Mr Newman said: “Initially the original plan was for a few of our members to go into the public gallery and disrupt the public meeting. We wanted members to have the opportunity to let go some of their frustrations and bring attention to the quite serious issues that people have been having.”

He added: “One of our demands was for all outstanding repairs on the Andover estate to be addressed by the 31st of August. We want that to be replicated across the other estates in Islington. We need faster responses and there needs to be solutions for some of the deeper issues like the structural problems of buildings.”

The action was not met kindly by councillors, who suggested the protesters should attend surgeries, or choose a more appropriate time to express their frustration.

But Mr Newman said: “There isn’t a day that isn’t political and a day when our members don’t have to deal with these problems, that’s why it was important to make them aware and raise them.”

Cllr John Woolf, the council’s housing chief, had previously met with the group in April and said he “made clear that we are open to ongoing dialogue”.

Protesters from housing campaign group ACORN outside the Town Hall

He added: “Since then, we’ve asked them to share specific details of the housing issues they’ve raised so we can investigate and respond. To date, we’ve not received this information. We’ve offered to meet with them many times, and we remain ready and willing to work together to support residents and resolve any issues.”

A report by the housing scrutiny committee at the beginning of May stated that a lack of funds meant the council would be “disinvesting in council homes annually by on average £43million per year compared to our most recent estimates for maintain homes to a decide standard”.

This, Cllr Woolf stated, would mean the available £189m over the next three years would be prioritised for “essential building safety works, key asset maintenance and essential services investment”.

The report added: “This will lead to deterioration in the condition of council homes.”

But Mr Newman said the council could not make the excuse that their hands were tied due to a lack of funding.

He said: “The money is there in central government. There’s always money to compensate private landlords from central government. It’s forecasted that £73bn will be used by the government to subsidise private landlords through housing benefit. It’s a political choice to prioritise the interests of the middle class.”

The housing campaigner added: “The Labour government is complicit in continuing austerity measures. They [councillors] should be able to stand up and demand more from central government.”

Cllr Woolf said the Labour group “have and continue to lobby government for a long-term rent settlement and increased investment in council housing”.

He added: “We are making significant investments to improve housing conditions. We’re investing £15m in the Andover Estate alone, including new ventilation, improved insulation, and essential roofing and guttering repairs.

“We’ve also made numerous improvements to our repairs service, including boosting the budget to tackle damp and mould by an additional £2m per year and establishing a dedicated team to lead this work.”