"Enough is Enough”: Opposition Leader Confirms No Confidence in Council at Housing Crisis Protest

Cllr Victor Chamberlain, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition, addressed the Southwark Housing and Planning Emergency (SHAPE) protest on Saturday 1st March, slamming the Labour council’s failures across a whole host of housing issues. 

The protest was part of a series of campaign events organised by SHAPE, who are campaigning to end the housing crisis by calling for tougher rules around development, specifically on the provision of genuinely affordable housing. 

Starting in Peckham, where the controversial Aylesham redevelopment has had its affordable housing provision slashed from 270 to just 77, the protest marched towards Borough Triangle, where only 17% of homes are to be at social rent levels. 

In a pivotal moment in Cllr Chamberlain’s speech, he referenced the Labour party’s “Trump like” shutting down of democratic debate, and asked who else at the protest had no confidence in the council – a near unanimous show of hands went up, echoing similar scenes at the Southwark Tenants conference the week before. 

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition said: 

“It’s an honour to once again stand with SHAPE in calling for more genuinely affordable housing, and resisting the claims of big developers who will always put profit before people. This housing crisis overseen by our Southwark Labour party is in two parts – council housebuilding has collapsed whilst empty homes are on the rise, and the homes we do have are being mismanaged to the point of serious failure.  

The Labour administration shut down scrutiny and accountability, but this protest has shown that Southwark residents are on our side and are demanding radical change to fix Southwark’s housing.”