Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Haringey "the most divided borough" in the "most unequal city in the western world"
London has become the most unequal city in the western world, according to Professor Danny Dorling of the University of Sheffield.
His new book Injustice: Why Social Inequality Persists, shows that the richest tenth of Londoners had an average wealth of £933,563, a figure 273 times greater than the lowest 10 per cent, with an average wealth of £3,420. The gap is bigger than comparable cities such as New York or Tokyo.
And zooming in on Haringey, the data shows our borough as the most divided borough in London. Of its 19 wards, four are in the richest 10% and five are in the poorest 10%.
London's Poverty Profile has been created by one of London's largest charitable trusts, the City Parochial Foundation, and the independent think tank, New Policy Institute. It uses the latest official data to reveal patterns of poverty across the capital. It looks at how London compares to other English regions and cities, and the differences between London boroughs.
See more about how Haringey fares here.
His new book Injustice: Why Social Inequality Persists, shows that the richest tenth of Londoners had an average wealth of £933,563, a figure 273 times greater than the lowest 10 per cent, with an average wealth of £3,420. The gap is bigger than comparable cities such as New York or Tokyo.
And zooming in on Haringey, the data shows our borough as the most divided borough in London. Of its 19 wards, four are in the richest 10% and five are in the poorest 10%.
London's Poverty Profile has been created by one of London's largest charitable trusts, the City Parochial Foundation, and the independent think tank, New Policy Institute. It uses the latest official data to reveal patterns of poverty across the capital. It looks at how London compares to other English regions and cities, and the differences between London boroughs.
See more about how Haringey fares here.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Stuart on
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A simple look at the difference in ratios between Crouch End and Harringay for houses converted into flats/bedsits or still whole would I bet give the answer - more flats/bedsits means higher transient population (including higher population who don't speak English as a first language) means higher percentage of people with either (a) no affinity with their environment or community buy-in and/or (b) failure to understand rubbish collection policies. The fact that Harringay is known as "Bedsit Land" tells you everything you need to know about why Highgate and Crouch End are cleaner.
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Permalink Reply by Ian Willmore on
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Redistribution is a proper function of all government: local, regional, national and in the case of the EU supra-national. The property base across Haringey would provide an excellent means for achieving this through local taxation, if Councils were not so constrained in how they spend their money, for example through the ring-fencing of schools and housing budgets, and if the gearing of local taxation against central government funding was not so outrageous.
One step would be to return control of local business taxes to local Government. Another would be to introduce a higher Council tax band for very expensive houses - but don't hold your breath waiting for the Coalition to act.
To allow the rich part of the Borough to escape from the poor part would be to go backwards, not forwards. Rich people in Highgate should pay more to fund adequate schools and social services than poor people in Tottenham.
By the way, I would of course prefer Councillors to live in or close to the wards they represent. But I am not sure that living in Muswell Hill and representing Tottenham gives a Councillor less understanding of the realities of life than living in Muswell Hill and representing it as well.
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Permalink Reply by E. F. Salzman on
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Indeed, this is a good solution but no holding of breath. When you say gearing of local tax against central Government funding is outrageous can you please explain? Thank you.
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Yes. Roughly speaking, for every 1% fall in Government funding the Council would need a 9% rise in Council Tax to compensate. This is partly a function of central control of the business rate, as I said.
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It seems almost without exception centralisation is a bad thing.
However, I have never considered this view to be at odds with the notion that government DOES have a duty to ensure certain basic needs: health, social services, education (and I include higher education here although that does not appear to be a widespread opinion) and fairness in terms of distribution of social responsibility, or burden if you prefer to put it this way. Thanks for that simple and clear explanation and shall think/read more on what you say about business rate.
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People in Highgate should pay more because local electors elected a Council that wants them to pay more. One of the worst features of successive Tory and Labour Governments has been to cripple local democracy. Returning proper control of local finance to Councils would be an essential first step in turning this around.
As for living in the area, your observation does not contradict what I just said. In my experience, it is helpful for Councillors to live locally. But representing Tottenham wards - wherever you live - offers social and political lessons you will never learn in Muswell Hill.
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In relation to Council Tax levels, the 2010/11 figures for band D are as follows:
England average (Band d) £1,439
London average (Band d) £1,309
Haringey (Band d) £1,494
So actually Haringey is not as far out of line as you might think when the bill thuds onto your doormat.
But the gearing problem - see above - means that there is constant pressure to introduce large Council Tax rises to pay for services aimed at some of the most deprived wards in Britain, particularly when central government funding falls.
Also, the Council Tax is unfair, because it benefits people in very expensive property. It was introduced by the Tories as a quick fix solution after the Poll Tax debacle, and New Labour never found the nerve to reform it.
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Exactly, Ian. On the unfairness of that Tory quick fix (untouched during New Labour's 13 years) take a look at the effects of applying Council Tax upper bands in two streets of Haringey Borough.
(a) Two houses I know in Wightman Road slotted into Band G in 1991 because of their narrow side garages which their neighbours lack - hence
CT 2010: £2,490.24 (of which, £1,973.87 to LBH; £516.37 to the GLA),
(b) House in Courtenay Avenue N6/N2) slotted into Band H because there ain't no higher band - hence
CT 2010: £2,988.29 (of which, £2,368.65 to LBH; £619.64 to the GLA).
My 4-bed Wightman Road terrace house (valued at £95,000 in 1991) pays LBH and GLA nearly as much per annum in CT as the 8-bed Courtenay Avenue detached house ('The Mansion') currently under offer with Knight Frank at £29,500,000.
Time, perhaps, for a properly assessed Property Tax and a locally raised Income Tax. Unless, of course, Courtenay Avenue RA take up my earlier suggestion to pay Northumberland Park's Council Tax bills as well as their own.
In fairness though, 'The Mansion' on Courtenay Ave lacks my western vistas of Chettle Court and distant Muswell Hill and my imminent prospects of London Concrete's facilities across the tracks. You get what you pay for, I guess.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Ian, in May Mr Hoyle was one of the Tory candidates for Tottenham Green. (Where he lives.)
In his posts on HoL he explains that "most of the council seem to live in Muswell Hill, Crouch End and Stroud Green". We are, he says, "champagne socialists up on the hill" and he'd like the Borough divided: "to force the council members to come and live in the detritus and grime."
In his view, "when the labour councillors pop down the hill to N15 from their N10 postcodes they don't want to allow their constituents the same environment to live in that they enjoy. . . . .”
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Here's a list of Labour councillors with the wards they live in and represent.
(T= Tottenham Parliamentary Constituency. H= Hornsey Wood Green Constituency.)
Gina Adamou lives in and represents Harringay ward (T)
Charles Adje lives in St Ann’s ward (T) and represents White Hart Lane (T)
Kaushika Amin lives in Tottenham Green Ward (T) and represents Northumberland Park (T)
Dhiren Basu lives in and represents Seven Sisters ward (T)
John Bevan lives in and represents Northumberland Park. (T)
Zena Brabazon lives in Tottenham Hale ward (T) and represents St Ann’s (T)
David Brown lives in Tottenham Green ward (T) and represents St Ann's (T)
Gideon Bull lives in and represents White Hart Lane (T)
Nilgun Canver lives in Harringay ward (T) and represents St Ann’s (T)
Joanna Christophides lives in Alexandra ward (H) and represents Bounds Green (H)
Matt Cook lives in and represents Bounds Green ward (H)
Ali Demirci lives in White Hart Lane ward (T) and represents Bounds Green (H)
Isidoros Diakides lives in Stroud Green ward (H) and represents Tottenham Green (T)
Dilek Dogus lives in Bounds Green ward (H) and represents Bruce Grove (T)
(During the last Council Dilek lived in both Tottenham Hale (T) and Bruce Grove wards. (T)
Pat Egan lives in and represents Woodside ward (H)
Joe Ejiofor lives in Fortis Green ward (H) and represents Bruce Grove (T)
Pauline Gibson lives in Tottenham Green ward (T) and represents Noel Park (H)
Joe Goldberg lives in Muswell Hill ward (H) and represents Seven Sisters. (T)
Eddie Griffith lives in and represents West Green ward (T)
GMMH Rahman Khan lives in and represents West Green ward (T)
Claire Kober lives in Alexandra ward (H) and represents Seven Sisters (T)
Toni Mallett lives in Tottenham Green ward (T) and represents West Green (T)
Stuart McNamara lives in and represents Bruce Grove ward (T)
George Meehan lives in and represents Woodside ward (H)
Sheila Peacock lives in Tottenham Hale ward (T) and represents Northumberland Park (T)
Lorna Reith lives in and represents Tottenham Hale ward (T)
Reg Rice lives in and represents Tottenham Hale ward (T)
Alan Stanton lives in and represents Tottenham Hale ward (T)
Anne Stennett lives in Fortis Green ward (H) and represents White Hart Lane (T)
James Stewart lives in Hornsey ward (H) and represents Noel Park (H)
Alan Strickland lives in and represents Noel Park ward (H)
Bernice Vanier lives in and represents Tottenham Green ward (T)
Ann Waters lives in Fortis Green ward (H) and represents Woodside (H)
Richard Watson lives in Bruce Grove ward (T) and represents Tottenham Green (T)
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