Lambeth residents and ALMO fight

Local residents recently held a council meeting regarding the ALMO proposal for Lambeth council housing.

The following is a very good piece covering the meeting on Lambeth Unison news blogspot.

As a Lambeth resident - and former council tenant, albeit as a private renter - I support the right of Lambeth tenants to have a full say in any decision to change the ownership structure of their housing stock.

A motion supporting this position was passed recently by the Lark Hall branch of the Labour party:

This Branch notes the following:

The seriousness of the housing issue for both Tenants and Councillors;
That current Labour Party policy supports the '4th option' for housing;
The right of all Tenants to be balloted on any ALMO proposal.

This Branch requests that the Vauxhall GC adopts our motion requiring a Labour Group meeting to be held prior to any Council vote on an ALMO proposal.

This Branch believes that the Council should thoroughly and constructively consult with, and conduct a formal ballot of, all Tenants to determine their views on the ALMO proposal.

This Branch believes that this process will achieve two key things:

It will provide all Tenants with a chance to democratically participate in an issue that directly affects them;

Whatever the Tenants decision the Councillors can legitimately claim they have facilitated the will of Tenants.

For the purposes of this motion 'Tenants' also includes Leaseholders.