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Boris dubbed 'Dame Shirley in a suit' for housing policy
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor02.04.08
Boris Johnson was accused of being "Dame Shirley Porter in a suit" today amid claims that his housing plans were biased against Labour-voting tenants in London.
Ken Livingstone and Labour MPs claimed that Mr Johnson's proposals would restrict the number of people in rented flats and houses and were driven by politics rather than housing need.
The Tory mayoral candidate used a housing debate last night to repeat his pledge to dump the Mayor's target that 50 per cent of the capital's new homes should be "affordable".
Mr Livingstone declared that both Mr Johnson and Conservative councils were opposed to his target because the tenants in low-cost homes "might vote Labour".
Today, the Mayor stepped up his criticism as he made a campaign stop in Barnet to highlight the Toryrun borough's low percentage of newly built affordable homes.
London's Labour MPs also produced a dossier claiming that Mr Johnson's housing manifesto was riddled with errors, poor costings and plans to benefit the better off rather than those in housing need. Regent's Park and Kensington North MP Karen Buck compared Mr Johnson's plans to Dame Shirley's 1980s "gerrymandering" scandal when she tried to give homes to potential Tory voters rather than the homeless of Westminster.
Ms Buck said: "Boris is Dame Shirley Porter in a suit. The only moral thing to do is look at housing need then work backwards. If housing need isn't the driver, then what is? Clearly the driver has to be to satisfy a political constituency rather than housing need."
But Mr Johnson insisted that his plans would aim to help all Londoners, both those in need of rented homes and those on higher incomes who currently fail to qualify for Government help.
He promised to build 50,000 more affordable homes if he became Mayor, of which 30,000 would be for the "social rented sector".
Reader views (8)
Over the next 28 days labour will say and do anything to stop Boris becoming mayor just like they did in 2000 trying to stop Ken labour are control freaks and we need to kick them out.
- Dave Angel, London
I am losing heart in Boris as a candidate. I am a professional working Londoner, but I am not a high earner and not in a position to fork out on a mortgage, especially in the current climate. Renting a decent but affordable small flat close to my workplace in the City is the best I can do. I don't want to see more and more space taken up by "luxury apartments", well out of the reach of the majority of Londoners.
- David, London N10
I wonder if Ken has any interest in the building industry? Often people in charge of delivering permits have. I love the quote of the day (yesterday I guess), when our Mayor finally confirms to those not aware yet, he is an idiot.
- Lauren, London UK
Nobby,
I'm a middle class Londoner and Ken's transport policies have done nothing but benefit me. The car stays mostly at home and the Oyster card has reduced my public transport costs by £500 a year. There are more buses, the bendy buses clear those Waterloo bus queues in extra quick time and things like the Sultan's Parade brought London together like nothing since the blitz.
- Rich Johnston, London, UK
It seems Labour is getting itself into a twist over dress sense. Wonder when they'll ever get anything right and certainly 'be more in touch'!
- Tony, London E11
You would have thought that Labour would have checked to see if KL knew anything about the Planning Laws before granting him ever more powers. Obviously he's confused about what 'affordable housing' means; which is a percentage of the total number of properties in a development offered for sale at a discount. It doesn't mean rental properties offered at less than market rent, ie it doesn't apply to Tenants. The only way to achieve that is to suspend the Right to Buy and even He hasn't got the power to do that.
- Jerry, London
I believe Lib-Dem Southwark has the highest affordable housing policy so I'm surprised that Mr Paddick doesn't want to distance himself from Boris on this one.
It's not just Dame Shirley in a suit, though. When Shirley Porter was around, Londoners could usually afford to buy a home, so fighting against the government's privatisation of council housing at the same time as supporting the Mayor's affordable housing scheme is the only way to see that Londoners can afford to live in London, rather than move out and commute back.
- Victor, London, England
So what? All of Ken's transport policies are biased against car owners and class-obsessed, but they still become law.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, UK
