I've written a personal & non-political blog on my 11 years as a local councillor drawing on NEF's 5 Ways to Wellbeing which we promoted in Southwark. Politics is brutal but we desperately need more people with integrity & resilience to stand... gracetruth.blog/2026/05/07/t...

Important data point here: “A sharp fall in Labour's performance is accompanied more often by an above average Green performance than it is by a strong Reform performance”. The Greens have already hurt Labour even before any direct gains.

1/ I am dismayed that Berkeley Homes are once again reducing their affordable housing offer in Southwark - this time on the Borough Triangle site.

1/ I am immensely disappointed by the number of affordable homes now approved in the Canada Water master plan. We have been clear & consistent in our position. The revised plans do not meet Southwark's housing needs & the council would not have recommended the British Land application for approval.

Great to join @coopparty.party.coop launch of report on Community-Led Housing with Angela Rayner who always speaks with passion on affordable housing. Looking forward to Southwark's first CLT progressing - hopefully with community housing funding solution soon! 🙏🏼 @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social

Council housing is a top priority for @sadiqkhanlondon.bsky.social, so it was great to join @helendennis.bsky.social at the groundbreaking for 340 new homes at the Ledbury estate, including 215 council homes funded by the Mayor. A fantastic scheme led by LB Southwark in partnership with Higgins.

An excellent day in Leeds at the Future of Council Housing Summit discussing wins on right to buy reform, 10-year HRA settlement and £39bn grant programme. But still lots more than needs to be done to support councils to build at scale. Proud that Southwark is at the forefront of this campaign...

Southwark Council & Notting Hill Genesis have agreed in principle to change our long-standing partnership on the Aylesbury Estate. Full statement here: www.southwark.gov.uk/news/2026/ne...

The message from Gorton and Denton is clear: Labour needs a fundamental reset.

Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital halts mass eviction after London Centric uncovered what was going on. Hundreds of Londoners now receiving bizarre door-to-door visits blaming misinformation and being asked to record videos saying they don't want to be evicted. www.londoncentric.media/p/asif-aziz-...

Scylla Road / New James Court gets Cabinet approval 🎉 12 affordable homes + shared green space in Southwark, in long-term community ownership via London CLT. Thanks @helendennis.bsky.social. Local? Join the Steering Group [email protected]. #AffordableHousing #Southwark #CommunityLandTrust

The people who have died amid Trump’s immigration crackdown

Western countries are hitting refugees twice: they are making it harder to claim asylum *and* they are cutting aid to troubled regions. I went to Sudan, the world's worst humanitarian situation, where the UN refugee agency has had to cut half its staff. Please have a read: as.ft.com/r/df593f1e-e...

‼️ LABOURLIST EXC: 💬 "I think stitch ups are not the thing that the Labour Party should be doing" - Miatta Fahnbulleh gives her thoughts on whether Andy Burnham should be allowed to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election 👀 🔴 Watch to see her full response...

Sadiq Khan calls for progressives to “fight back and champion the benefits of legal migration” in Fabian conference speech. He warns of the “construction sector grinding to a halt, care homes left understaffed, our universities badly hit, and even greater challenges for the national finances”.

‘Nostalgia is not a strategy’: Mark Carney is emerging as the unflinching realist ready to tackle Trump

Very excited about this work being taken forward 👇🏼

Key workers deserve homes they can afford in the city they serve. That’s why I’m proud to launch my Key Worker Living Rent scheme, which will help NHS staff, firefighters and others into affordable homes for long-term rent, saving potentially thousands of pounds each year.

Brilliant to be celebrating these 8 new modular homes in Bermondsey with @sezking78.bsky.social to support rough sleepers move into settled accommodation. Expanding our Housing First programme and with more on their way! Important @southwarklabour.bsky.social work to tackle homelessness.

Not for the first time, where other European leaders wring their hands over Trump, Spain’s Sánchez draws a line. A stance that is only looking more sensible (more *realistic*) as time goes on.

Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts. Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.

Mainstream's Interim Council sends its congratulations to Andrea Egan on her election as General Secretary of @unison.org.uk.

Big news for Tustin Estate! The next phase of our estate renewal will provide new council homes earlier than planned, a major boost for local residents. We’re committed to becoming a good landlord and providing decent homes for local people. southwark.gov.uk/news/2025/so...

Southwark Council & community partners have issued the following statement affirming our commitments to being a Borough of Sanctuary and raising concerns about some of the recent immigration proposals. Please do read & share: www.southwark.gov.uk/news/2025/al...

This is brilliant from @hannahmerich.bsky.social ahead of the budget writing for @mainstreamlabour.bsky.social on the imperative to scrap the 2 child benefit limit and a call for moral courage at the heart of governing: www.mainstreamlabour.org/blog/moral-c...

Why the two-child limit has to go, in a chart.

The Mayor and London boroughs are acting to protect rough sleepers from freezing temperatures. ❄️ SWEP is activated whenever temperatures are forecast to drop to 0°C 🚨 Boroughs and charities will open additional emergency accommodation 🛌 City Hall also makes spaces available.

The Prime Minister said in September that we are at a fork in the road. These asylum proposals suggest we have taken the wrong turning. The idea that recognised refugees need to be deported is wrong. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Great energy at @coopparty.party.coop #CoopConf25 as we celebrate the brilliant work of our Community Britain campaign. Loved the conversation about Grassroots Growth and how we deliver change that people can see and feel in their lives through community power and cooperation.

Leaving those who flee persecution or their kids in limbo- either when making a claim or when they try to rebuild lives- is not just cruel. It’s counterproductive to integration & costly to all. Asylum reform needs to be both effective & ethical. And those of us not frightened to fight for it.

"The era of permanent protection is over" Is this Labour government really saying it was wrong in principle to let these refugees of the last 75 years to stay, settle and become British - and they believe that should NEVER happen again in principle or practice? www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiuR...

🌹Mainstream's Interim Council sends its congratulations to @lucympowell.bsky.social, whom we endorsed after a ballot of our members. This result must mark a shift toward a broader, bolder politics within Labour - so that we can build a democratic socialist programme to inspire the country.

The Bakerloop is here. A brand-new electric express bus service connecting communities from Waterloo to Lewisham. Launching on Saturday 27 September, we’re offering one week of free travel on the Bakerloop so Londoners can see for themselves how it could transform their everyday journeys.

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Ignore the haters, London is the 🐐

At LREF yesterday, CLF hosted a panel discussion with @brendadacres.bsky.social, @helendennis.bsky.social & others on the Bakerloo Line Upgrade and Extension. The panel discussed current progress, funding options and the project’s role in enabling new housing, jobs and growth in Central London.

Action to divest the Southwark Pension Fund from conflict and genocide - statement from Southwark Council. For full details of the four actions the council will take please find out more via the link below. www.southwark.gov.uk/news/2025/ac...

It's probably time I let people know that I've made the tough decision not to stand again for election in May 2026. It's been a great privilege to serve as Labour & Co-op Cllr for Chaucer Ward for the last 10 years and lots still to get done before May!

GAZA LATEST 🔴 ▪️ ‘No credible evidence’ Al Jazeera journalist killed in targeted Israeli strike was part of Hamas ▪️ Israel admits to targeting Anas Al-Sharif ▪️ Netanyahu vows to ‘finish the job’ in planned takeover of Gaza ▪️ AJ journalist's final message: 'Israel has succeeded in killing me'

If ‘the West’ doesn’t act soon there won’t be any Gazans left to save. The fact there are no easy solutions does not excuse us from finding one, and from finding it now. www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

An excellent & thought-provoking day today at the Fabian Society Housing Mission Summit. Brilliant sessions on skills, homelessness & long-term housing strategy and caught up with some fantastic London Labour colleagues.

. @rachaelmaskell.bsky.social is one of the best 🌹

Southwark Council has released the following statement following the 15 July planning committee meeting to discuss the Aylesham site in Peckham www.southwark.gov.uk/news/2025/so...

A truly chilling report. The Israeli Defence Minister has is asking the IDF to draw up plans to force 600,000 Palestinians in Gaza into a camp on the ruins of Rafah- something he’s calling a “humanitarian city.” Once in they wouldn’t be allowed to leave. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

A pleasure to be at the Foreign Office this morning supporting the launch of the UK's approach to Freedom of Religion or Belief, the fruit of work led by David Smith MP. Such an important strand of human rights work with the situation worsening in so many places around the globe.

Well worth reading the whole thread below. Focus for new AHP on social rent homes, exempting new build council homes from Right to Buy for 35 years & allowing councils to combine RtB receipts with grant - game changer...

A Timms Review from the outset on a sensible timetable could have been a fine thing. Listen, co-produce, build consensus. We need to build an effective & sustainable system but welfare reform is far too important to be rushed...

Congratulations to my Cabinet colleague and friend @jamesmcash.bsky.social on his election as Leader of Southwark Labour. He will be our nomination for Leader of the Council next week and I know he will work tirelessly to deliver a fairer & healthier Southwark 👏👏👏

Brilliant news that Southwark has been rated 3rd best single tier council for climate action in the whole of the UK! And top performer on planning & land use - proud of everyone involved! @johnbatteson.bsky.social

Last week we launched our plan to tackle homelessness through £11m in investment buying back council homes and making homelessness services more accessible to the people that really need them. www.southwark.gov.uk/news/2025/co...