Tremendous Win in Woolwich Common - David Gardner

Labour won all three seats in Woolwich Common ward this afternoon on a swing of 9% from Conservatives to Labour.

We won 67% of the vote with 2289, 2208 and 2048 respectively. The turnout was up on the last local elections by 3.7% at 31.8%.

The next highest candidate was the Green on 469. A majority of 1820, the highest in the Borough.

This great result is all due to your hard work over the last few weeks and months. That we had 28 WC people out yesterday and others in marginal wards speaks volumes for the spirit of Labour's campaign. Throughout, we have been absolutely determined to cover the whole ward and not take any voter for granted; also we have focussed on our positive values, achievements and passionate commitment and never stooped to attacking other parties.

Many thanks again and look forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday 11 June at our reception and AGM.

Please see the full results here on the Greenwich Council website.

With best wishes

David Gardner.

Generation Rent - Labour's Hope for Tenants

In the last few weeks, meeting residents throughout the ward, I have lost count of the number of desperate people who are private tenants threatened with eviction through no fault of their own. The housing charity shelter reported today on the record number of evictions nationally. In Woolwich Common, many rogue landlords are simply chucking out decent hard working tenants who pay their rent on time to make more money from new tenants.

People are often given just a couple of weeks' notice to find somewhere else and uproot. Where children are involved, this is even more unsettling and disruptive to their education if they have to move school and move away from friends and local childcare circles and networks.

And then the choices facing those facing eviction are grim, with that awful balance between what you can afford with ever rising rents and somewhere respectable in a reasonable state.

This is why I'm so pleased that Labour has launched new policies that will mean 3 year tenancies with only inflation adjustments in those three years, a cap on the often inflated charges for moving in from letting agents and tenants being able to.mpve out with one month's notice. Obviously, we need a Labour Government for a change of policy but a Labour council can try beforehand to ask landlords and letting agencies to sign up to a voluntary code rather like Newham have done with their landlord registration scheme.

Also, this week our excellent Labour MP Nick Raynsford made the case in Parliament for all private landlords to be obliged to fit smoke alarms in each flat. This is long overdue but will still need agreement from Government.

Obviously, many people would like to own their own home but for most this is impossible in London and for some it doesn't suit their needs. So more and more are renting. We need to all work together to encourage good landlords high standards and proper protection for all tenants 

David Gardner