Official Survey Says Southwark Labour Aren’t Listening

An official survey taken by social housing providers has revealed that most Southwark tenants do not feel that the council “listens to their views and acts upon them”.  

The Tenants Satisfaction Measure, compiled by the Regulator for Social Housing for the first time this year, also revealed that only around half of residents were overall satisfied with the council’s performance and, shockingly, 73% of residents were not happy with the way the council responds to complaints. 

This comes just a week after the Regulator identified “serious failings” in the Labour council’s housing department, becoming the second independent housing body to highlight serious concerns.  

Along with serious fire and electrical safety concerns, the Regulator also highlighted a lack of transparency and accountability in the council, which is now confirmed by this survey. The Liberal Democrats have said that issues around transparency and communication have been clear for years, and most apparent in the recent Major Works scandals.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:

“This survey confirms what we already know – that Southwark Labour just aren’t listening. We’ve seen it from the countless incidents of severe maladministration, the string of major works scandals, and the recent finding of serious failings by the Government’s social housing watchdog.  

We will make sure that they cannot continue to sweep these problems under the rug. We all know Labour are London’s worst landlord, and it’s time they showed some humility and accountability for their failure.”