Dear Arjun,
I was elected to the London Assembly in May as a Londonwide member representing the whole of London. I consider it a vital part of my role to keep you informed with my work on the London Assembly and around London, so I'll be reporting back to you each month.
This month has seen a dramatic fall in affordable house building under London’s Tory mayor, while the Labour-dominated Assembly has backed equal marriage and launched an investigation into London’s private rented sector. You can read more about these stories in my report below.
If you would like to receive more regular news updates from me in addition to my monthly report please click here to sign up.
Best wishes,
Tom Copley AM
Labour London Assembly Member (Londonwide)
Labour London Assembly Member (Londonwide)
PS – you can keep up to date with the work I’m doing on the Assembly and around London by following me on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. You can also visit my website at www.tomcopley.com.
September Report contents:
- Affordable housing
- Out4Marriage
- Private rented sector
Dramatic fall in affordable house building under Boris Johnson
Housing is the biggest issue facing London at the moment yet affordable house building has fallen off a cliff under Boris Johnson. There has been a 70 per cent drop in the number of affordable homes being built in our city since last year. When I questioned the mayor about this at September’s Mayor’s Question Time he was terrifyingly complacent.
Boris Johnson has claimed credit for administering the programme he inherited from Ken Livingstone, who secured £5 billion for housing from the last Labour government.
London Assembly backs equal marriage
The London Assembly has backed the campaign for equal marriage. At September’s plenary meeting the motion to support equal marriage received cross-party support, albeit with three abstentions from Conservative members.
Following the vote, I recorded a joint Out4Marriage video with Lib Dem Assembly member, Caroline Pidgeon, who proposed the motion:
Assembly launches investigation into the private rented sector
More than 25% of Londoners now live in the private rented sector, including an increasing number of families. Large numbers of people who would previously have bought a home have been forced to rent privately because of sky-high house prices, as well as a lot of people who would prefer to live in the social-rented sector.
The London Assembly’s Housing and Regeneration Committee, on which I serve, has launched an in-depth investigation into the private rented sector. Over a series of meetings we will be looking at rent regulation, tenancies, letting agencies, the housing benefit reforms and more.
