From Walthamstow to Wandsworth, and from Barking to Barnet, London councils are building again, writes Sadiq Khan
5 January 2024, 09:39
When I was first elected in 2016, London council homebuilding had virtually ground to a halt.
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Ignored by my predecessor and denigrated by national government, the stock of essential homes had been chipped away at by decades of ‘right to buy’ without replacement homes being built.
Kick-starting a new council housing revolution was a priority for me and thanks to the dedication and passion of boroughs, the commitment of our partners, funding from City Hall, and the many Londoners who have campaigned for decent, affordable homes, I’m proud to say we’re now building more council homes in London than at any time since the 1970s.
In fact, since 2016, more than 32,000 council homes have already been started in London, with more than 23,000 directly backed by City Hall since I launched my Building Council Homes for Londoners programme in 2018.
This compares to just 3,520 council homes started in London in the entire decade before I became Mayor.
We’re showing what can be achieved when we focus on the homes Londoners need, not the luxury penthouses prioritised in the past. It is a model that could be extended to the rest of the country if the political will existed to do so.
Last year, local authorities in London started building twice as many council homes as the rest of the country combined.
Despite more new homes being completed in London than at any time since the 1930s, there is still so much to do to fix London’s housing crisis. Turning around decades of neglect will not be easy, but this is a challenge I’m determined to rise to, because as one of the few politicians to grow up in a council home, I know the difference it can make.
When I was growing up on an estate in south London our council home gave our family stability and freedom from an unaffordable private housing market.
My parents didn’t have to worry about a private landlord making us homeless at the drop of a hat or hiking up our rent to sky-high levels, which meant they could put aside money to save to buy their own home.
A secure council home was the foundation on which I was able to build my own life, get an education, get a job – and eventually become a homeowner myself. It infuriates me that this opportunity is now being denied to millions of people across the country because of a lack of political ambition.
Too often we’re told there’s no alternative to a predatory private rental market for those who can’t afford eye-watering house prices. But I firmly reject this view.
The truth is, with the right approach, we can continue to build on the success of recent years – not only delivering record numbers of new council houses, but at the same time building a better, fairer, safer, greener and more affordable London for everyone.
