Network Rail applied to Southwark Council for planning permission to turn the Union Theatre into a restaurant. However, they confirmed recently that this planning application has been withdrawn and they will assist the theatre in carrying out refurbishment works.

Labour Londonwide Assembly Member Tom Copley said:

“I am thrilled that Union Theatre will be staying. Small theatres such as the Union Theatre are invaluable for showcasing new talent and cutting edge work, and for being creative hubs in the community. However, many of them are vulnerable to redevelopment into houses and offices as landlords take advantage of soaring property prices.

“This theatre has established itself firmly in Southwark, which was illustrated with the amount of support from residents who rallied round to save it. Network Rail have done the right thing by listening to what local people want and we’re grateful that this fantastic theatre will be staying put.”

Ends

Notes

1.    Tom Copley is a Londonwide Assembly Member and is leading an investigation into London’s small theatres.

2.    For more information about London’s Small Theatres investigation please see here.

“Of course it’s important to make sure that people who are here illegally are found, but it looks like the government are trying to distract people from the real problem. There is a housing crisis for all tenures in London, with poor conditions in the private rented sector where people are charged rip-off rents. It is time the government introduced a compulsory register of landlords, only by taking this step will conditions improve.

“I’m puzzled as to how this new immigration check law could be implemented, at the moment landlords and letting agents have no formal relationship with government. There is no national register of landlords. Many landlords routinely flout the few existing requirements placed on them – about the safety of their property or the need to pay tax on their income from renting. This is an attempt to distract from the real problems in the private rented sector. We’ve seen plenty of desperate ‘dog-whistle’ politics from Lynton Crosby at City Hall, now it looks like he’s rolling out his tired old play book for the government. How pathetic.

“The government have refused to introduce any other legislation to improve conditions in the private rented sector as ‘red-tape’, so why are they prioritising this and not taking steps to make conditions better for the 800,000 households who privately rent in London?”

Ends

This is a significant intervention on the subject from a former New Labour minister. The Labour Housing Group has long been campaigning for a significant programme of house building, and new members are always welcome.

You’d think, wouldn’t you, that Labour was responsible for a ballooning housing benefit bill? After all, we’ve heard the quote lifted from a hundred CCHQ press releases that housing benefit was “out of control” under Labour.

Housing benefit did indeed rise under Labour. Between Tony Blair walking through the front door of Downing Street up until the recession hit in 2009 (at which point you’d expect a big spike due to increased unemployment) spending on housing benefit rose by 13%. Not brilliant, it could be argued, but hardly an unmitigated disaster, especially given the housing bubble at the time. Higher unemployment caused by the recession boosted the figure by a further 22% by the time Labour left office in 2010.

In order to assess whether or not this increase qualifies as “out of control” a little bit of context is required. When Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979 spending on housing benefit stood at £2.9bn in today’s money. Under the premierships of her and John Major that figure reached £15.8bn by 1997.

That’s an increase of nearly 450% in real terms.

If housing benefit was out of control under Labour, it was positively wild under the Tories.

Labour is far from blameless when it comes to the housing crisis this country’s in. The reason the bill soared under the Thatcher and Major governments was that a political decision was made to switch from subsiding building new homes to subsidising rents, a policy New Labour continued whilst in government. The failure of this policy is perhaps the single biggest lesson that the next Labour government must learn.

Labour should be bold at the next election: we should make an explicit pledge to cut the housing benefit bill. However, we must do it on our terms, recognising that housing benefit subsidises landlords not tenants.

The Tory plan to cut housing benefit by capping it has failed. Spending on housing benefit has continued to climb since the Tories limited Local Housing Allowance (LHA) claims at 30% of local market rates and introduced caps on the total amount people can claim for each property size.

So how can Labour cut the bill? First of all we need a massive programme of social house building. The biggest failure of the last Labour government was to ignore the consistent calls from Labour members for councils to be given the power to build again. The private sector and housing associations alone have never been able to deliver the number of new homes required to keep pace with demand. Councils have to play a major role if we are to see the scale of house building required to make up for a generation of failure.

There is cross-party consensus in local government for the “borrowing cap” placed on councils to be lifted, allowing them to borrow to build new homes. London Councils and even Boris Johnson have called on the government to lift the cap. The next Labour government must heed these calls.

Borrowing to build housing should also be removed from the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement, as is the case in all other EU countries. This would allow local authorities to borrow to build without adding to the national debt. Tory-run Westminster Council has led the charge on this.

The second thing Labour must to do to cut the housing benefit bill is take action on high rents in the private sector. We need a system that guarantees longer tenancies with predictable rent increases, along the lines of the system of rent regulation that works in Germany. This sort of system will not only hold rents down, but also provide stability to those living in the private rented sector, especially the increasing number of families.

Finally, Labour must make a bold pledge on wages and tackling unemployment. Many people who claim housing benefit are in work doing low paid jobs. They claim housing benefit because their wages are too low and their rents too high. By moving towards a living wage we can radically reduce the sum we spend on subsidising rents. Labour should also commit itself to a goal of full employment.

Everyone agrees that spending £24bn a year on housing benefit, a large chunk of which ends up in the pockets of private landlords, is madness. The question for Labour is, are we willing to take the bold steps necessary to shift spending away from subsiding rents and back to subsidising house building? Correcting a generation of policy failure will not be easy, but we cannot afford to fail.

Article originally published on LabourList.

London’s small theatres make an invaluable contribution to the cultural life of our city. Countless actors, writers, directors and producers have cut their teeth in small venues across London. Some shows go on to find success in the West End and on Broadway while others fade into obscurity. But while London’s small theatres have been thriving in recent years, they face a number of serious challenges.

Concerns about funding cuts, uncertainty over tenancies, cost of building repairs and trouble promoting their productions are some of the many problems affecting London’s smaller venues. That’s why I have launched an investigation on behalf of the London Assembly’s Economy Committee into what the Mayor can do to help protect a vital cultural and economic asset.

For some small venues their very existence is under threat. I recently visited the Union Theatre in Southwark, under threat of redevelopment from Network Rail. It is deeply concerning that such an important cultural centre could be lost because London’s property market makes redevelopment into office space or flats so enticing for property owners.

In his 2010 cultural strategy, the Mayor said he was working with, and encouraging institutions, local authorities and funding bodies to ensure that ‘high quality cultural services are expanded and enhanced across London’. Now is the time to live up to that aspiration.

Clearly there’s not going to be a one size fits all solution. London’s theatres come in all shapes and sizes, from Victorian grandeur, to rooms above pubs, newly built venues to improvised spaces for one-off productions. Each one has different challenges and that’s why we’re asking as many as possible to get in touch and let us know what the Mayor can do to help.

After all, the Mayor does have some significant influence. He runs London’s tourist agency, London & Partners and appoints the Chair of Arts Council London. He runs the transport network that gets people to shows, and the poster sites that commuters look at every day.

On a more technical level, he’s responsible for putting together the annual London Plan that Councils use to guide their planning decisions and controls over £50m to promote economic growth in town centres across the capital.

London’s world-renowned theatre scene doesn’t just produce great drama – it also generates a huge amount for the local economy by bringing people into local town centres and filling the bars and restaurants around the venue. £10 spent on a ticket can easily be spent many times over in other local businesses.

That’s why it’s essential that we do more to protect our small venues. We want to hear from small venues about the scale of these challenge they face and how they could be helped by the Mayor.

We want to hear from audiences too – how often do you visit your local theatre? How do you hear about shows? And what could be done to improve the experience?

Read more about our investigation – and have your say!

This article was originally published on Everything Theatre.

At our March Assembly plenary session we questioned experts from London Councils, the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and the Child Poverty Action Group on the impact of the welfare reforms on London.  The picture they painted was incredibly bleak.  The government’s pernicious Bedroom Tax was singled out for particular criticism.  This is unsurprising given that the policy has been roundly condemned by housing experts.

As the welfare state comes under sustained assault from the Tories and the right-wing press it becomes even more important for us to stand up and defend it.

You can read more about the impact of welfare reform on London along with other issues in my report below.

Best wishes,

Tom Copley AM
Labour London Assembly Member (Londonwide)

PS – you can keep up to date with the work I’m doing on the Assembly and around London by following me on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.  You can also visit my website at www.tomcopley.com.

March Report contents:

•     Mayor lets the poorest take the hit
•     How can we protect London’s pubs?
•     Beyond the West End
•     City Hall plummets to 278th place in the Stonewall Equality Index
•     London Labour Housing Group Policy Conference, 13th April

Mayor lets the poorest take the hit

Boris Johnson has refused to accept that the government’s welfare cuts will drive the poorest Londoners out of their communities and even out of London itself, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.  When I challenged him about this at March’s Mayor’s Question Time he appeared dangerously complacent about the consequences, despite news reports that a serious of London councils are planning to house families outside of London for the first time due to benefit caps.

The mayor also continues to repeat the lie that all people on benefits are unemployed.  In fact, a large proportion of benefit recipients in London are in work and do low paid jobs that this city relies upon to continue functioning.

WATCH: Challenging the mayor about people being forced out of London by welfare cuts »

How can we protect London’s pubs?

On 13th March I hosted an event in London’s Living Room at City Hall with the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to discuss pub protection in London.  Pubs closed at a rate of two per week in 2012, with high property values encouraging many owners to sell them off for flats or other uses.  Good, well-run pubs are at the heart of so many communities across London.  We heard from a range of speakers about how councils and community groups can help to save local pubs.  We also sampled a selection of real ales brewed across London.

READ MORE: On my website »

Beyond the West End

In February I launched an investigation into the challenges facing small theatres in London on behalf of the Assembly’s Economy Committee.  Since the investigation was launched we have received submissions from around seventy theatres and hundreds of people involved in theatre in London.

I have visited a number of theatres around London including the Questors Theatre in Ealing, The Finborough in Earls Court, The King’s Head in Islington, Jacksons Lane and Upstairs at the Gatehouse theatres in Highgate and the Union Theatre in Southwark.  The diversity of small theatres in London is truly wonderful, but the range of problems facing them are also very diverse.  My investigation seeks to find ways that the mayor and the GLA can help to alleviate some of these problems.

PHOTOS: London’s small theatres »

BLOG: Beyond the West End »

City Hall plummets to 278th place in the Stonewall Equality index

A Freedom of Information request has revealed the Greater London Authority was ranked 278th in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index 2013 falling from second place in 2008 when Ken Livingstone was mayor. Boris Johnson was urged to make a submission for the GLA last year after it appeared no submission had been made to the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index since 2009, when he became mayor.

READ MORE: On my website »

London Labour Housing Group Policy Conference, 13th April

The London Labour Housing Group is holding a housing police conference in Paddington on Saturday 13th April.  The conference will be looking at policy ideas for the London borough elections in 2014.  Speakers include Shadow Housing Minister Jack Dromey MP, Karen Buck MP, Mayor of Lewisham Sir Steve Bullock and Cllr James Murray.

Find out more details and register here »

Around London…

This month I have also:

• Campaigned in Gospel Oak (Camden) and St George’s (Islington) by-elections
• Attended People’s Question Time in Lewisham and spoken at a joint meeting of Bloombury & King’s Cross and St Pancras & Somers Town branches in Camden.

Stonewall announced their ‘Top 100 Employers in the Workplace Equality Index’ in January. The index is Britain’s leading tool for employers to measure their efforts to tackle discrimination and create inclusive workplaces for lesbian, gay and bisexual employees. More than 750 major employers have taken part in the index, using Stonewall’s criteria as a model for good practice, since 2005.

The Mayor, who runs Transport for London and the London Fire Brigade, has also been criticised for not continuing to push for equality in both of these institutions. In 2008, TfL was ranked sixth and the LFB ranked 13th but neither were placed in this year’s index.

Labour London-wide Assembly Member Tom Copley said:

“I am shocked that under Boris Johnson the Greater London Authority has gone from second in Stonewall Workplace Equality Index 2013 to 278th.  Boris is letting down the LGB community by failing to measure whether City Hall, TfL and the LFB are gay-friendly institutions to work in.

“As the Mayor of London, Boris should set an example to other organisations across London and pride himself on being the head of an organisation that goes above and beyond written policies on equality issues, instead of burying his head in the sand.”

Ends

Notes

• Tom Copley AM is a Labour Londonwide Assembly Member.
• Stonewall Workplace Equality Index

The new Police and Crime Plan repeats the claim that all of London’s 32 boroughs will see an increase in the number of police officers based in their borough.

The Mayor claims there will be an increase in the number of police officer based in Redbridge by 86 but in fact it will only see an increase of 61 police officers – 25 less than the Mayor has promised. In Havering he claims that there will be an increase in the number of police officer based in the borough by 48 but Havering will in fact only see an increase of 13 police officers – 35 less than the Mayor has promised.

The Mayor has been previously criticised for this claim as it is based on police numbers in 2011, a low point for the Met following a recruitment freeze. Compared to 2010, 17 of London’s 32 boroughs will see a decrease in the number of police officers, and the remaining boroughs will not receive as many extra officers as promised.

The plan also confirms that over 60 police stations and front counters will be closed, 12 stations earmarked for closure have been reprieved but more stations that were safe have been put on the list. The Police and Crime Plan fails to provide any details about these closures, it also fails to detail where the new “Contact Points” will be based.

Labour Londonwide Assembly Member Tom Copley said:

“For Boris to continue to mislead about the number of additional police officers in Havering and Redbridge, while closing police stations is dishonest. It’s time he admitted he failed to get a good deal from government and now we are paying the price.

“Boris is planning on closing Wanstead Police Station and Havering Public Advice and Service Centre against the wishes of local residents who have been clear in their opposition to the Mayor’s plans. He told us that all police stations closed down would receive like-for-like replacements but today’s announcement shows this isn’t the case. Rather than wasting time promoting himself on the national stage, the Mayor should be paying attention to his day job and getting a better deal for Londoners from his colleagues in government.”

“Please ask Boris Johnson how he can justify policies that make it very difficult for poorer people to live in Central London boroughs; why he wants London to become so unbalanced and how he can support “social cleansing”?”

Written response from the Mayor

I have secured significant increases in funding for Discretionary Housing Payments so local authorities can support vulnerable households affected by the welfare reforms and enable them to remain in their local area. In addition, my continued investment in new and existing affordable housing and the policies of my London Plan will ensure that London continues to provide for low income households in all areas of the capital.

Written response from the Mayor

London boroughs are responsible for animal welfare issues including dealing with the control of urban foxes.

Written response from the Mayor

I am glad to advise you that there is no charge for non-commercial events such as the type of day you describe so there does not appear to be a financial obstacle that requires removal. We should recognise and support the contribution our courageous armed forces make to this country at home and abroad, and I hope the transport arrangements will help as many people as possible to attend and celebrate with us.