Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
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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Tags for Forum Posts: Housing, Mark Blake, Regulator, Social, the regulator social housing
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cllr Jo Kuper
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Thanks for raising this Clive, I've also posted about it here. https://harringayonline.com/forum/topics/haringey-labour-misled-gre...
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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Hello Jo,
This is a dreadful report and a stain on local Labour's record.
It is surely shocking that employees of the council should tell untruths to a Government Regulator.
Residents and the wider public pay for these untruths to be retailed. We should expect better.
Did the Labour politicians: know what was going on? Turn a blind eye? Order the untruths?
After decades of Labour control and four years of control by former Leader Ahmet (along with some of her schoolgirl cronies), this was how Labour actually treated their council tenants and leaseholders.
- How was this possible?
- Did the CEO know what was going on?
- Did Labour not take their eye off the ball?
- Should the wider Labour Party not take some action?
- Should not Peray Ahmet be asked to issue a statement?
- Was not too much attention given to the council's 2027 Year of culture?
With the notable exception of Childrens' Services, have we not had at least four years of a culture of poor governance?
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Permalink Reply by Devrim
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Terrible - just saw that Labour put out a statement that makes it sound like they're going to pin the blame elsewhere, of course.
Labour should do an investigation of their own party and find out whose responsible and get them to step down.
Are any current sitting Labour councillors implicated? Who was in charge of housing at the time?
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Devrim,
I agree.
Local Labour's inadequate—if not outrageous—PR response is here.
Local Labour need to look at their own Party and do some serious soul searching.
It is as well that Labour "support a full investigation into what information was shared with the Regulator", but this seems limited in terms of anyone in Labour taking any responsilbity.
The previous leader seemed happy to take responsibility for the costly [#Bread&Circuses] 2027 year of culture, but not for matters of fire safety that could mean life or death for council tenants.
I hear that local Labour do not believe they deserved to lose the election. However, formal reports like this from the independent, objective Government Regulator, suggest otherwise.
I would not want to see the Government appoint a Commissioner to take over the whole of the council, which would be bad news all round. However, some parts surely now need to be placed into Government Special Measures. It's happened before.
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Chutzpah: off the scale
One of my neighbours has long claimed that one cannot shame the shameless.
Labour PR spin doctors have the gall to seek, "action from the Council to ensure housing services are made compliant and that homes are safe and secure".
This bare-faced cheek is of course intended for consumption by their own supporters, rather than the unaligned, independent or the fair-minded.
Local Liberal Democrats have called for an Extraordinary Meeting of Full Council and published their comments here:
Haringey receives C4 Housing Judgement after serious failings
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I don't believe that Haringey Social Services are murdering children (bottom), but I do remember Baby P. It will remain years before the association with Haringey Council is forgotten.
As I've mentioned earler, I was told by a lawyer that the council may have spent in the order of £3,000,000 on legal fees at the Public Enqury in order to evade responsibility. That's three million of public money in 2002 pounds.
There is practically no limit to the amount of legal costs Haringey council is ready to run up to defend their own reputation … and every limit when it comes to defending objective public interest.
There may be a current parallel. In 2002, the defence of the-then lead Member for Children's Services was that "no one ever told me" (1.26 in Lord Laming's final report of the Victoria Climbié Inquiry).
There was deep dysfunction then. In a different area, there appears to be deep dysfunction now. Will the former local Labour Cabinet Member with responsibility for Social Housing offer a similar explanation? That nobody told them what was going on?
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Since then, the council's Children's Services has been turned around under the leadership of Director Ann Graham and former Councillor Zena Brabazon, the recent Cabinet Member for Children's Services. Such a turnaround is a huge credit to both of them and their staff.
Given the council's overall dire reputation, it's important to recognise this area of success.
I hope the Green Leader's actions this week reflect a new and welcome—if not overdue—assertiveness over the Administration.
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Permalink Reply by Christopher Fowler
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I have withdrawn my post. I was angry when I posted it, and it was an over-statement. I thank you for your correction. My view has been coloured by personal experience with the Social Services department, which has been appalling. I congratulate those who have sorted out the problems with the Children's Services.
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Christopher, thanks, understood.
There is still reason to be angry with the conduct of Housing personnel under the previous Administration.
Above, I mentioned Chutzpah.
Does the post made yesterday that I screenshot (below) from Musk's "X" social media platform qualify?
Are we not being invited to believe that these most serious problems in Housing, including dishonesty, arose only after Labour lost power?
Is no one responsible for the matters identified in the Regulator's Judgment?
Click to enlarge to full-size
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Permalink Reply by WGDoug
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Just curious… Has anyone sent this info to any media? BBC London would be all over it, if they knew about it.
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I expect the media will follow it up.
The council has on their website published a number of significant documents.
Possibly the most relevant is the letter from the council CEO (Andy Donald) to the Social Housing Regulator (Angela Holden)* dated 18 November 2025.
The letter ("Request to remove Regulatory Notice") is attached alongside. The seven pages appear replete with assurances to the Regulator. Is it all accurate? If not, how much is accurate?
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* Even now, this council's overriding obsession with secrecy continues into redacting of the name of the Director of Regulatory Engagement (!). They cannot help themselves.
Angela Holden is a senior official whose identity and role are matters of public record. What is the matter with the council's dim redactors? Do they not need a good clip round the ear?
In my Information Rights case, the Judge ordered the release of documents conderning the Valuation of the council HQ and the Property Boards that Labour set up. Areas where the council lost huge public money.
After four years of industrial strength resistance, the council supplied all the information … within 29 hours after I copied the CEO into a Contempt of Court Application.
At one point in the case, the Judge wrote that the council had far more had been redacted than needed and gave examples of absurd redactions by the council's blue-pencil crew. Council lawyers ought to have learnt from the learned Judge, but good governance has gone to mush at our council. That we pay for.
2025-11-18-request-to-remove-voluntary-undertaking-november-2025_re...
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Thank you, Clive. That’s a lot of info available to the media. Someone needs to point it out to them. Perhaps the current council has contact with some London or national outlets
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WGDoug, in my view the new Green Admin need to try to curtail the bureaucrats' intense obsession with a culture of secrecy. It may help some Councillors and council employees in the short-run but in the long-run, secrecy and cover-ups have not helped residents or the council's reputation. Indeed it has wasted huge time and the public's money. I hope the London Borough of Secrecy-Culture in 2027 may reduce.
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The media have picked it up but v basic.
https://metro.co.uk/2026/10/28/london-council-misled-grenfell-era-r...
similar article in the Evening Standard
it needs a journalist to do some proper investigation and some FOIs to really get to the bottom of it
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