Affordable Housing for All
For too long our residents have been severely impacted by London’s housing crisis, including, overcrowding, housing shortages and poor-quality homes. We have made huge strides over the past 4 years, delivering over 6,400 affordable homes and Introducing one of the biggest investments into existing council homes in our history. The next four years will see even more delivered because a decent, affordable home is a right, not a privilege. Affordable Housing for All
Delivered and Continuing
- Build on our more than 6,400 new affordable and social homes for rent that we have delivered or are in delivery by May 2026
- Continue to fund the Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme, which will deliver 3,300 homes across 40 council-owned sites, in addition to the more than 6,400 affordable homes by May 2026
- Build on our £609million investment to ensure all council homes are upgraded to Decent Homes Standard with new double-glazed windows; front doors; kitchens; and bathrooms as well as ensuring they are all fire and building safety compliant. This is possible because of this administration’s successful insourcing of Tower Hamlets Homes.
- Continue to explore opportunities for delivering new affordable homes in the borough and to pursue creative and innovative proposals, building on the new Local Plan we introduced, which will see all developments deliver a minimum of 40% affordable homes.
- Protect the 1,000+ parking spaces created in our previous term for residents to be able to park near their homes
- Continue the new arrangements in car free zones that introduced a permit transfer scheme removing previous restrictions, allowing residents moving from overcrowded households to 2+ bedroom properties with a single on-street parking permit
- Ensure housing repairs are delivered at pace to prevent disrepair and improve resident satisfaction. We will review all options, including an insourcing option, for repairs when the current contract ends in 2027
- Continue driving forward improvements to ensure that residents are at the heart of all decision making related to housing delivery and repairs
- Continue making improvements to empower Tenants, Leaseholder and Residents Associations across the council’s estates
- Review the council’s homelessness strategy and increase investment to ensure that it works better for our residents and keeps them near to their support networks
- Continue to work cooperatively with Housing Associations and private landlords to ensure their tenants are protected and their homes are of a good standard
- Ensure all lifts and boilers in council buildings are repaired as a priority
- Continue to fully fund and resource housing enforcement officers to hold landlords to account
- Following our own planned £609million investment to upgrade council homes, pressure other social landlords to urgently deliver the same improvements to their own housing stock
New Promises
- Over our two terms, we will deliver 12,000 affordable and social homes, this will include the 6,000+ already delivered in our first term.
- Introduce a comprehensive estate regeneration programme with flagship projects across the borough
- Prioritise social and economic regeneration as part of all the council’s new developments
- Address and where possible eliminate the social and health inequalities associated with overcrowding
- Explore removing the current restriction on those residents moving from like-to-like properties, for example from a 3-bed to a 3-bed in a car free zone, allowing them to retain their existing permit or acquire a new one
- Explore options to access long-term empty properties and vacant land for housing
- Ensure rapid turnaround of empty council properties to make them available for those on the housing waiting list
- Increase penalties on those landlords who leave properties vacant. The penalty will increase every two years the property remains empty to discourage long-term vacancy
- Install lifts in more council residential buildings where possible
- Continue to invest in Temporary Accommodation to ensure properties are of good standard
- Explore the opportunity to create and acquire more parking spaces across the borough
Enhancing Education from Primary School to University
We want our children to have the best start in life, and to succeed in their aspirations. We have made history with our investment in children and young people in Tower Hamlets as the first council in the country to provide universal free school meals to all primary and secondary school pupils, as well as the first to bring back the Education Maintenance Allowance and, provide university bursaries and to introduce universal school uniform grants for low income families. We will continue to expand this support to give them the best start in life, invest in their futures and empower them to realise their dreams.
DELIVERED AND CONTINUING
- Continue universal free school meals for all primary and secondary school pupils, benefitting 38,000 children so far with hot, nutritious meals at school, after we made history as the first council in the country to introduce this ground breaking initiative
- Continue to fund the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and University Bursaries to support young people with university and further education, helping 5,200 students. We were the first council in the country to restore the EMA after it was cut by central government
- Continue to fund universal school uniform grants for low income families, helping 21,000 pupils over three years, having been the first council in the country to pioneer this initiative
- Continue to explore the establishment of an Institute for Academic Excellence to help further improve attainment levels in the borough’s sixth forms and colleges
- Continue to invest in our Ideas Stores to ensure that our residents have the best spaces available to learn; study; and work
- Continue to invest in our Youth Services, after having opened 20 youth centres across the borough including our dedicated youth centre for girls, Sister Space Centre. These are safe spaces where young people receive career advice, develop life skills, as well as providing quiet spaces to study and a range of leisure activities.
- Continue to provide a Community Language Service that promotes our diverse cultures
- Continue the Higher Achiever awards to celebrate pupils who have performed exceptionally
- Continue to prioritise SEND support through investment and promotion of council services, building on our £1 million fund to support young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities with their transition into adulthood.
- Continue to work with Canary Wharf to provide support through CW Education Trust paying for courses and tuition costing up to £5,900 a year
- Continue to promote family hubs and support to ensure that families across the borough have access to support and services readily
NEW PROMISES
- Expand on our universal school uniform grant for low income families, providing support with uniform costs for children entering reception; year 3; year 7; and year 10
- Explore further support to help parents with children with SEND needs
- Promote lifelong learning to ensure that no matter a resident’s age, they can continue to develop new skills and grow, including boosting ESOL classes and access to essential GCSEs
- Invest to further improve attainment and to support this work by bringing attainment services in house.
- Establish a review to explore the introduction of SEND-friendly afterschool provisions
- Formally launch council-run early entry GCSE and A-Level language studies
- Formally launch a programme of booster classes after school Our residents should not have to struggle with their day-to-day living costs. We are proud to have provided more support to our residents with the cost of living in Tower Hamlets than any other local council, and we will continue to expand on this support for our residents during this difficult financial climate in our country
Cost of Living Support & Continued
Our residents should not have to struggle with their day-to-day living costs. We are proud to have provided more support to our residents with the cost of living in Tower Hamlets than any other local council, and we will continue to expand on this support for our residents during this difficult financial climate in our country.
DELIVERED AND CONTINUING
- Maintain the freeze on council tax for those on low incomes and ensuring the poorest continue to pay no council tax at all, as well as continuing our policy of scrapping council tax for foster carers in recognition of the vital role they play in our community and to encourage fostering
- Continue to provide cost of living support to elderly and disabled residents. Having restored Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners when this was cut by the Labour Government, we have introduced and will continue to provide universal free homecare for all elderly and disabled residents in need as well as a Meals on Wheels service, providing hot and nutritious meals directly to the homes of vulnerable residents
- Continue to support families with the cost of living through our groundbreaking universal free school meals for all primary and secondary school pupils, and our restoration of the Education Maintenance Allowance, along with university bursaries. We will also be expanding our universal school uniform grants for low income families.
- As part of our commitment to Tackling Inequality and Poverty, provide holiday food and breakfast clubs to feed eligible children
- Continue with the Eternal Gardens Burial Ground and support with funeral costs – which we introduced in our previous term
- Continue and look to expand our new rent hardship fund for tenants on middle incomes struggling to meet rent increases where the increase is not met by existing housing benefit or universal credit
NEW PROMISES
- Introduce a free travel pass for students from low-income families, at least in their first year of university or higher education. As London transport networks are operated by Transport for London (TfL), the Council would seek to fund travel passes to use on TfL networks, in partnership with TfL.
- Provide laptops to young people from low-income families to bridge the digital divide
- Establish a review to explore the provision of childcare vouchers for low income families struggling with the cost of childcare
- Expand the £1million a year Meals on Wheels service to provide free, hot, nutritious meals to elderly and vulnerable residents seven days a week
- Launch luncheon clubs to tackle loneliness and get our elderly and vulnerable together
- Establish an Anti-Poverty Taskforce to bring together and enhance council services that tackle inequalities.
- Adopt the socioeconomic duty to make it a requirement of the council to reduce economic inequality
Keep Our Communities Safe and Together
Being safe is a fundamental right. We have introduced significant investment in community safety and made huge strides in tackling crime as well as addressing the causes of crime and antisocial behaviour. This term, we will continue to invest to build safer and more secure neighbourhoods for all.
Delivered and Continuing
- Continue to work with communities across the borough to bring people together from different backgrounds and promote understanding and community cohesion
- Continue to fund the Mayor’s Anticrime Taskforce – a total investment of over £8million into the borough’s community safety
- Continue to work with the borough’s Inter Faith Forum, and with faith institutions like the Council of Mosques, local churches, synagogues and all faith groups to identify and meet the needs of faith-based communities and tackle hate crime and discrimination based on religion, ethnicity and all protected characteristics
- Build on our £2million investment in services tackling domestic and gendered violence and our dedicated spaces for supporting women residents including the new Nari Women’s Centre and youth centre for girls Sister Space we have opened
- After we protected Bethnal Green Police Station from closure by the Metropolitan Police, continue to work with the Met to put more uniformed police officers on the streets, as part of our Community Constabulary which previously boosted policing numbers locally. These officers will be supported by Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers
- Continue to maintain and invest in borough-wide street CCTV cameras, building on our £4million investment during the last term
- Complete and maintain the Council Estates CCTV investment of £3.7million, making estates, blocks and leisure centres safer for our residents
- Maintain the near £1million investment in a new state-of-the-art CCTV control room
- Continue to ensure that anti-social behaviour is addressed as swiftly as possible through our dedicated helpline, Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers, cooperation with the police and community partners
- Continue to invest in drug treatment, rehabilitation and recovery programmes, including projects targeting those struggling with addiction who are hard-to-reach
- Continue to promote weapons deposits in our knife amnesty bins
- Continue to fund and where necessary expand the Council’s Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officer service
- Continue to fund the council’s recently launched dedicated Drugs Squad, the first of its kind in the country
- Continue to fund a dedicated dog squad to help tackle crime in the borough
New Promises
- Improve all lighting and visibility on every council-owned estate
- Create a bespoke, in-house domestic violence unit to tackle domestic violence and improve protection of women and girls across the borough, building on our £2million investment last term
- Provide video doorbells for vulnerable residents to make them feel safer at home
- Introduce new and restore broken Communal Entry Security Doors in Council blocks to tackle anti-social behaviour
- Explore opening Police Hubs in the Council’s One Stop Shops
- Ensure council assets are used for the benefit of council-run community activities and services
Protect and Strengthen Public Services
Public services are the lifeline of our community. Our residents should have access to the best public services, supporting them from cradle to grave From universal free homecare to One Stop Shops that bring the Town Hall to you, we will continue to prioritise the delivery of the best, responsive services for the people of our borough.
DELIVERED AND CONTINUING
- Bring Council services closer to our residents through the opening of One Stop Shops across the borough including council tax support and benefits; housing repairs; and parking services and explore incorporating health, community safety and cost of living support services
- Continue to provide drug and alcohol services through the new Culturally Sensitive Recovery Centre
- Continue to support women residents with dedicated programmes and community services, including through the Nari Women’s Centre and the dedicated youth centre for girls, Sister Space we have opened
- Continue to ensure our borough stays clean, with significant ongoing investment in our waste and refuse services
- Ensure that – where possible – the council provides services in-house to guarantee greater accountability to residents
- Continue to keep all Ideas Stores open, and explore the feasibility of opening more where there is need
- Continue to provide universal free homecare for all elderly and disabled residents in need.
- Building on our Care Quality Commission Adult Social Care Good inspection, strive to achieve Outstanding by the time of the next inspection
- Continue to invest in inclusive public services to build a fairer and more equal borough for all and to work to tackle all forms of inequality, from class and economic inequality, to inequalities and barriers based on protected characteristics
NEW PROMISES
- Introduce the Tower Hamlets Pregnancy Payment to support parents on low income with the costs associated with a newborn baby
- Launch a new mobile app that allows residents to access services and applications digitally
- Provide Beanos [day trips] for elderly residents to improve mental health and tackle loneliness
- Explore establishing a council-run mental health support service working with healthcare partners
- Deliver a new ideas store; one stop shop and housing in the former PDC site in Bethnal Green
Making Tower Hamlets the Best Place to Live, Work and Visit
Our borough has always been a welcoming place, with so much to offer. Tower Hamlets showcases the best of London in one borough, with our rich history, iconic landmarks, diverse cultures and beautiful green spaces. We will continue to invest to make Tower Hamlets the best place to live, work and visit.
DELIVERED AND CONTINUING
- Continue to promote culture, heritage and art to keep Tower Hamlets’ visual history alive, including a project to celebrate the history of our East End.
- Continue to protect and prioritise our borough’s historic markets, putting them at the centre of our communities and preserving their critical economic and cultural significance
- Continue to provide free swimming for all women and girls aged 16+; all men aged 35+; and to parents and carers who swim with their children
- Continue to host the Mayor’s cup across a range of sports, promoting physical wellbeing and healthy lifestyles while celebrating the borough’s rich sporting heritage
- Continue to invest in the upkeep and protection of our parks and green spaces
- Continue to work to protect valued arts, cultural, social and historic venues, and community spaces and organisations which benefit local residents, building on the recent Cabinet approval of landmark new leases for Mudchute Farm, Shadwell Boxing Club and Boundary Estate Laundrette
- Continue to create and promote the best jobs in the borough,both through the council and working with partners in Canary Wharf, the City Fringe, and other big employers
- Continue to provide, and explore expanding to two hours, free parking for customers stopping to shop at the council’s markets
- Continue to ensure that our sports and leisure facilities are sensitive and accessible to different communities and meet the needs of residents, particularly women residents.
- Continue to implement £40million investment in upgrading our leisure centres
- Keep all our existing swimming pools open, while adding three more across the redesigned Whitechapel and St George’s leisure centres and a new lido in Victoria Park
- Maintain and upgrade the John Orwell leisure centre and explore the development of affordable homes around the site, while protecting the area’s unique heritage
- Continue to support local businesses and small and medium enterprises in all Council procurement to maximise social value
- Continue to invest in outdoor gym and play space facilities across our estates and parks
- Based on a review of the results of the pilot, look to extend Leisure Centre opening hours until 2am in response to feedback from residents and generating more income to reinvest in council services
- Maintain the increased number of events in Victoria Park, promoting culture and tourism and maximising income generation.
NEW PROMISES
- Finalise the delivery of the new Whitechapel Leisure Centre, which will see a new state of the art gym; women only space; two swimming pools; and a spa; as well as nearly 50 affordable homes on the site
- Complete the delivery of a new, state of the art leisure facility at St George’s, including two swimming pools; women only spaces; play spaces; and a state of the art gym in Shadwell/ Wapping, alongside 30 predominantly affordable homes
- Introduce SEND play spaces in leisure centres with Sensory Rooms to ensure all of our children can enjoy physical activities
- Centralise apprenticeships and graduate schemes under Young Tower Hamlets
- Explore expanding transport services for disabled residents to access leisure centres and gyms
- Rejuvenate our high streets by reviving our historic Town Centres, promoting business, culture and community across the borough
- Introduce a Winter Wonderland Festival in one of the borough’s parks.
- Provide free exercise classes for women, building on our free swimming sessions and women only gyms and youth spaces
- Expand indoor play facilities, including weekend and baby/toddler provision to ensure all children can access fun activities
- Open a new outdoor swimming pool – lido – in Victoria Park, as part of our swimming offer
- Make Tower Hamlets the top visited London borough for tourism through the expansion of our Love Tower Hamlets campaign
- Introduce an app that promotes tourist and significant sites across the borough, as part of our Love Tower Hamlets campaign
- Continue to protect the rights of those who hold one-zone borough parking permits to park in zones other than their home zones for three hours, free of charge. Explore expanding free parking around faith buildings during religious services
- Continue to work proactively with government; the Mayor of London; CWG; and JP Morgan on their proposed new HQ on the docklands, delivering huge business rates; investment and employment opportunities to the residents of Tower Hamlets
A LISTENING COUNCIL
Our residents are what make our community in Tower Hamlets so special. We will continue to put the people of this borough at the heart of all decision making, ensuring that this authority remains one that listens and responds to their needs.
Delivered and Continuing
- Continue to hold regular surgeries around the borough so that you can come to me directly for help with issues you are facing
- Continue to work with other councils and the London Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV) to implement Aspire's motion, passed by Tower Hamlets Council, to divest the council’s pension funds from human rights abuses or war crimes around the world, including in Gaza
- Defend the democratic mandate to reopen our borough’s roads in the courts, following concerns expressed by many residents about worsened air pollution and congestion affecting households on main roads, as well as concerns from emergency services and some vulnerable residents about access
- Any traffic reduction measures to be introduced only after extensive consultation and with the consent of the people of the borough
- Continue to make governance and administrative improvements as part of the Council’s ongoing improvement journey and address longstanding issues inherited from previous Council administrations
- Continue to work with residents, community groups and other interested parties to develop ideas and plans together
- Continue to publicise my email address and telephone number for you to contact me
- . Continue to ensure the Council represents and listens to diverse groups across our community, Working to tackle discrimination and barriers faced by people with protected characteristics, and Championing equality for all. This includes among the Council’s workforce, building on our successful reversal of the gender pay gap
- Continue to work in close collaboration with our statutory and non-statutory partners, our vibrant voluntary and community sector and other local stakeholders, building on our increased support for voluntary and community organisations
New Promises
- Install landline phones in the council to ensure calls are answered in a more timely manner
- Improve customer services to ensure a good resident experience
A Clean and Green Place to Live
We all deserve a cleaner and greener future. We are investing to make our borough more environmentally sustainable, including through investment in waste and recycling services, in reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality, and in electric vehicle infrastructure and our award-winning green spaces.
Delivered and Continuing
- Continue implementing our strategy to transition to a net zero borough and reduce the Council’s carbon emissions, having already introduced £6 million investment to improve air quality and reduced the Council’s emissions by 32% in the last year alone
- Continue to ensure a clean borough, with significant ongoing £15million+ investment in our waste, refuse and recycling services and continue to build on our progress to extend food waste collections
- Continue to invest in our roads and highways, addressing potholes and improving public realm
- Continue to look after our parks and other open spaces, ensuring that they are accessible for the whole community
- Continue to work with private and social landlords to improve insulation standards in our homes and lower emissions
- Continue to prioritise tree planting across the borough, building on the 4,000+ trees we have planted since 2022 which has seen us recognised as a ‘Tree City of the World’ by the United Nations
- Continue to increase the number of charging points for electric vehicles across Tower Hamlets, after we installed 2,370 electric vehicle charging points in the borough, in one of the fastest rollouts in the UK
- Continue to fund and promote Find it Fix it, giving residents the power to report rubbish and eyesores
- Continue to encourage our community to become involved in community walkabouts to check cleanliness standards are being maintained across the borough
- Continue to support schemes to teach cycling, bike proficiency and road safety
- Continue to improve the borough’s recycling rates
New Promises
- Further reduce carbon emissions and continue working to implement our strategy to transition to a net zero borough
- Ensure that all new buildings and developments are as energy efficient as possible
- Plant thousands more trees across the borough
- Offer remuneration and rewards for residents meeting recycling targets
- Introduce dedicated cycle parking for Lime Bikes and other electric bikes and scooters to declutter pavements and improve the public realm
- Penalise those who fly-tip with harsher fines, including those who improperly mix rubbish and recycling
Full Manifesto
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LUTFUR & ASPIRE
FAIR POLICIES FOR ALL
PROVEN RECORD & BRIGHTER FUTURE
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