July Update – Standing Up for Residents and Supporting Our Communities

I hope you had a great Pride Month! Pride is always an important opportunity to celebrate the progress our LGBTQ+ community has made while recognising there’s still more to do to make our society fairer and more equal.

July has been a busy month both in and out of the Town Hall.

It was a month marked by tragedy following the death of 16-year-old Theo Seward in a traffic accident in Lee Green. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Theo’s parents, Mike and Claire, and all of his loved ones. Cllr Rathbone and I met with Theo’s parents and, in response to their concerns, submitted a petition calling for pedestrian crossings on Manor Lane to help improve safety for everyone.

This month also saw the first ordinary Council meeting since the local elections, giving us our first opportunity to table motions and hold the new Mayor and Cabinet to account. We brought forward a motion on tackling anti-social behaviour, calling on the Council to commit to maintaining funding for the teams doing this vital work.

Unfortunately, the Green administration would not commit to protecting this funding, despite the enforcement teams working in well-known hotspots across the borough. But your Labour Group will continue to make it clear that everyone in Lewisham deserves to be safe and to feel safe.

At the meeting, I challenged Cllr Tam’s use of racist language towards David Lammy MP on social media and her lack of an unreserved apology. Cllr Tam repeatedly claimed to have been exonerated, claimed it wasn’t racism (it was satire, apparently) while also acknowledging that she had used a racial slur. It is disappointing that, despite this, she remains Cabinet Member for Community, Sanctuary and Healing in a borough where 25% of residents are of Afro-Caribbean descent.

Read more about these issues, along with the work Labour councillors have been doing across our borough, in this month’s update.

Labour councillors questioned the Mayor over his 5.5% pay rise, following his broken election promise to take a 20% salary cut. We asked whether he would now support all council staff receiving a pay award in line with his own, particularly as previous increases in councillors’ allowances were linked to staff pay awards. He did not directly answer the question.

We also secured a commitment from the Council to continue providing PrEP through primary care settings, alongside home self testing kits that tackle health inequalities — building on the successful pilot introduced under the previous Labour administration.

Across the written questions submitted at Full Council, Labour councillors got the Green administration to confirm they will continue a number of flagship Labour projects, including: the £5 bulky waste charge, High Street Rental Auctions, parks improvements and SEND reforms. However, on several important issues they did not provide firm commitments, including: keeping all schools open and future Waste Amnesty Days.

Labour councillors stood in solidarity with striking NSL workers and UNISON members in Lewisham. These workers are simply asking for their union to be recognised and for NSL to enter meaningful pay negotiations. We stand with them in calling for constructive dialogue and a fair deal. Workers deserve to have their voices heard and to be treated with dignity and respect.

I attended a really special afternoon at the Family Day organised by the New Cross Fire Foundation and Gone But Not Forgotten, remembering those who lost their lives in the 1981 New Cross Fire and supporting their loved ones.

With music, games, food and drink, the event celebrated resilience, strengthened community connections and brought people together in remembrance.

Cllr Bernards and I joined our Lewisham West MP and the new Attorney General, Ellie Reeves, for the final session of her Summer School. It was inspiring to hear fantastic speeches from so many passionate young people on a range of important topics. The future is clearly in safe hands.

Congratulations to everyone involved in Catford House, which has won Best Project at the RTPI London Awards for Planning Excellence 2026. This well deserved award recognises the transformation of a historic building into a welcoming community space and is a testament to the leadership of the previous Labour administration, the dedication of council officers and the fantastic work of the wider project team. Good luck as the project goes on to the national awards.

Thanks to Cllr Clarke and Cllr Moore’s hard work in Grove Park, residents there have a new crossing on Baring Road. This will make a real difference for residents walking to Coopers Lane School, the community centre, local doctors and dentists, the allotments and nearby bus stops. These are the kinds of ward wins we will continue working towards as your local champions.