Lambeth council leader doesn’t want to speak to poor people

Yum – coco pops outside the Marriot hotel, County Hall

Early this morning, HASL members, residents from Knights Walk estate, and Left Unity gathered outside the Marriot hotel where Lib Peck was due to have a £90 a head breakfast with property developers to plan more disastorus housing policies for our communities.

We had great music, a huge banner, and our own breakfast of coco pops and orange juice so that she couldn’t miss us but for some reason, she tried to pass without acknowledging us. As she entered the hotel a little after 7.30am, members from HASL tried to approach her to raise the issues our members, and many other Lambeth residents, are facing including evictions, homelessness, disrespect at the housing office, demolition of estates, homeless people being pushed into the private sector, and her own calls for the full criminalisation of squatting. But Lib Peck didn’t want to hear about hunger and homelessness in her borough. She muttered something angrily as we tried to engage her in conversation and she rushed off to her fancy breakfast. Rude. We gave her some loud parting shots as the gate was closed in our faces by security.

Lib Peck isn’t interested in bad housing and poverty – but we are, and we’ll continue to fight these together in our communities. And we’ll continue to make our feelings known at every fancy meal that Lib Peck and the rest of Lambeth council have.