Don’t play politics with people’s lives, Labour chief tells Momentum activists
THE outgoing leader of Haringey council has warned hard-Left activists not to “play politics with people’s lives” as councillors slammed the brakes on a £2 billion housing project.
Claire Kober invoked former Labour leader Neil Kinnock in an impassioned defence of the Haringey Development Vehicle, which is at the centre of a rift between party moderates and local campaigners backed by Momentum, which supports Jeremy Corbyn.
Ms Kober, who has led Haringey since 2008, announced her resignation last month after claiming had she faced sexism and bullying over her support for the HDV. At an “extraordinary” council meeting last night, councillors voted to note her decision that it would be for the next administration to decide on the scheme. After May’s elections, Haringey is likely to have more Momentum-backed councillors.
Addressing the meeting over heckles from the public gallery, Ms Kober restated her belief that the HDV was the “best solution available”. The plans — which would see the council go into partnership with private developer Lendlease — include 6,400 new homes, a school, library, health centre and a new town centre in Wood Green.
She said: “I would say simply to [the next] administration that doing the right thing, that approaching issues with an open mind is the right way to do politics in Haringey. It’s not to put things in the ‘too difficult’ box and it’s not selling people fantasy dreams.” Quoting Mr Kinnock, she said: “I want to remind people of something that was said 35 years ago: you cannot play politics with people’s jobs, people’s services, people’s homes and people’s lives.”
Last night was the first opportunity for Haringey’s 57 councillors to vote on the HDV. Before the meeting — called by the eight-strong Lib-Dem group — about 200 people joined a march organised by the Stop The HDV campaign. It has accused Ms Kober and her cabinet of pushing through the scheme without proper consultation.