In a cluster of council estates along the southern bank of the River Thames in London, one party’s message to build more social housing resonates with frustrated Labour voters.
The borough of Lambeth has been controlled by Labour for decades, but recent polling suggests the progressive Green Party could win the most seats at the coming local election.
In addition to building more council housing, the Greens say they will introduce rent caps and make council budgets more transparent, with less money spent on consultancy fees, and increased visibility on how procurement contracts are handled. Taking a strong anti-war stance, the party’s candidates also say they will get councils to divest from Israel.
But the arrest of two Green candidates in the sprawling Lambeth Council area of south London on Thursday over alleged anti-Semitic online posts, increases pressure on the party and its leader Zack Polanski.
Housing promise
The hardship the Greens could capitalise on is palpable in the area. Solomon Mokonen, who runs a cafe in Vauxhall, not far from Parliament, normally votes for Labour, but he is looking to the Greens to bring about change.
The council has more than 50 Labour councillors and four from the Greens. But the progressive party are expected to take 37 per cent of the vote, with Labour at 33 per cent, according to the website Pollcheck.
Since setting up his cafe 18 years ago, after moving to the UK from Eritrea, Mr Mokonen has come to know local residents and says the community is important to him. “They’re like my family. If I’m closed one day or I’m sick, they call me to check on me,” he said.
One retired woman with health issues comes to the cafe every day and speaks to him about her frustrations. He serves her coffee and snacks. “This is a small area, many places are closing. I’ve been Labour for many years, I don’t know what they do for us. That’s why we’re stopping,” Mr Mokonen said.
Those living in the area’s council housing complain it can take years for critical issues in their homes to be repaired. They say that many of the flats along the Albert Embankment are now empty, leading to concerns that their homes will eventually be replaced. Meanwhile, more luxury housing developments, such as the nearby Nine Elms project, are expanding.
One resident told The National that it took two years for mould in one of her bedrooms to be removed. “My son had to sleep on the sofa, we couldn’t go into the room,” she said.
Another elderly woman said she had “had enough” of Labour and that the Greens would “make a nice change”.
Two candidates arrested
The arrest of Lambeth council candidates Saiqa Ali and Sabine Mairey for allegedly "stirring up racial hatred online" could force the party to change its position.
Critics say the Greens' strong anti-Israel and anti-war messaging fuels anti-Semitism and support for Iran, and that Mr Polanski has done little to tackle the alleged racism within his party.
Ms Ali was accused of posting the image of a Hamas fighter with the slogan “resistance is existence”, for which she apologised last week. Ms Mairey shared a social media post in March by anti-Zionist David Spevak that said “ramming a synagogue isn’t anti-Semitism. It’s revenge”, according to reports.
The two candidates no longer appear on the Greens' website and a representative for the party said previously that the posts did not reflect its views.
The criticism was compounded by an attack on two Jewish men in Golders Green this week that was declared a terrorist incident. The UK terrorism threat level has been raised to “severe” after the stabbings.
There has been a wave of recent attacks on Jewish neighbourhoods in north London – incidents the Metropolitan Police say could be linked to the Iranian government – putting further pressure on Mr Polanski.
Mr Polanski, who is Jewish, faced backlash from the Met Police when he shared an X post accusing the officers of “repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head” when the suspect of the Golders' Green stabbings was already incapacitated.
He apologised for sharing the tweet on Friday, adding: “Everyone in leadership has a responsibility for lowering the temperature at a time of such tension.”
Met Police commissioner Mark Rowley defended the actions of officers on LBC Radio on Friday and accused Mr Polanski of “undermining the confidence of my officers to act – because they need that sense of support". Mr Rowley had written to the party leader on Thursday to say he was “disappointed” and that the post was “inaccurate and misinformed”.
