FIRESTORM: Haringey Council Leader comments on Social Housing by previous Administration

THIS morning, the Leader of the Green Administration at Haringey Council (Mark Blake) published remarks sharply critical of the previous Labour Administration and their actions and inaction on Social Housing in our Borough.

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• This, in the wake of a shocking report by the Regulator
• There appears to have been actual dishonesty
• Ought not "Heads" roll?
• Identity politics is all very well, but how about getting the basics right first?
• Labour did try social cleansing—does anyone remember their HDV and the Lendlease debacle?—but appear to have neglected social housing
• Still, at least everyone in the Borough can look forward to a year of culture, organised by ex-leader Peray Ahmet and her previous Administration
• In its present form, is Haringey Council fit-for-purpose?

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”This morning, the Regulator of Social Housing published a damning report into Haringey’s previous Labour administration. It awarded Haringey the lowest possible grade for social housing. Only one other London council has ever received this grade. 

But this isn’t even the worst part. 

Today's report also reveals that the Labour administration failed to disclose serious fire safety risks in council housing to the Regulator, despite these risks being known to the council. The Regulator of Social Housing was given greater powers after Grenfell, thanks to years of tireless campaigning by survivors and bereaved families.

Thousands of overdue fire safety actions were not reported to the Regulator, including replacing fire alarms, structural fixes to stop fires starting or spreading and, most concerning of all, changes to external cladding.

I recorded a short video to explain what we have found and what we are doing about it.

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Any Labour councillors responsible for this must own up and step down. In the meantime, our new Green-led administration will focus on fixing our council housing, because a safe, decent home should never be a luxury.

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We are committed to holding those responsible accountable for their failings, and to securing a better future for our friends and neighbours in council housing — join me in shaping it.

[Leader of Haringey Council, Mark Blake]

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Link to the Regulatory Judgement - 28 October 2026

C4—Our judgement is that there are very serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards. The landlord must make fundamental changes so that improved outcomes are delivered.

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