Residents organised in the Hathersage Court tenants’ and residents’ association (TRA) in Islington are fed up how the local Labour council is treating them.
At a recent meeting they discussed their grievances and what to do.
Their flats in Newington Green suffer from heating that doesn’t work at all, or so little that flats remain cold. Some flats are leaking into others, causing damp and mould. The council promised those in flooded flats that they would be moved into empty flats whilst repairs were made, but this has failed to happen.
In addition, prepayment meters were installed in half the flats in January. Outraged residents forced the council to agree not to turn these meters
on, but now they are worried about what might happen in the future. To make matters worse, a housing development started by the council in 2018 has ground to a halt, resulting in an eyesore of a building site and resulting in an unusable play area.
Residents are now thinking about withholding payments for heating. Everywhere local councils, whether Labour, Tory, or Libdem, are failing local working class populations. The response of the Hathersage Court TRA is the right one. Only through actions like these can councils be forced to listen.