Tag: Lewisham Council

From Housing to Green Spaces: How Labour Is Delivering for Ladywell

Ladywell candidates, outgoing councillors and Labour activitists in Ladywell

Originally published on Ladywell Live

Your Labour candidates in Ladywell understand the real power of local government and what it can deliver for residents. Together, my running mates bring deep roots and proven commitment to our community. Collet Hunter founded a local charity following the tragic loss of her son to knife crime, transforming personal grief into lasting support for others. Ayesha Lahai‑Taylor has served as a councillor in neighbouring Brockley Ward since 2022, is a school governor at St Mary’s Primary School in Ladywell, and works within another London council—giving her invaluable frontline experience. My own background is in trade unions and the charity sector, where I successfully campaigned to keep vital helplines open for older people escaping abuse, ensuring they had someone to listen and a real route to safety and support.

Local government is easy to overlook — but it has more impact on our daily lives than almost any other level of politics. It’s responsible for the rubbish and recycling we put out each week, the pavements we walk on, the parks our families rely on, and the planning consent that decides what gets built in our neighbourhoods. Lewisham Council takes decisions every day that shape our streets, our homes and our quality of life. That’s why who represents us matters — and why we need local councillors who are prepared to stand up for residents, understand the powers they hold, and use them to make Lewisham a better place to live.

Labour is delivering real results for Ladywell. Your Labour council is building 100 genuinely affordable homes at Ladywell Park Gardens, taking action to tackle London’s housing crisis and help local people stay in the borough. Labour councillors fought to secure an extension to the Lewisham Donation Hub lease, protecting vital support for refugees, asylum seekers and residents facing extreme poverty. We stepped in to save the much‑loved Ladywell Pre‑School nursery from closure, keeping an essential community service open for local families. And Labour has brought in funding for new tennis courts and gym equipment in Hilly Fields, alongside major upgrades to the Lewisham Park playground — visible, practical improvements that are making a difference to everyday life in Ladywell.

Recently, Collet, Ayesha and I joined local volunteers at a River clean-up in Ladywell Fields — a reminder that protecting our environment takes both community action and political leadership. Under Labour, Lewisham Council is backing residents with real action, including cutting the cost of bulky waste collection to just £5 per item. This Labour‑led change is already helping residents dispose of waste responsibly, tackling fly‑tipping at its source and protecting Ladywell’s streets, green spaces and waterways.

But there is more to come. Labour has launched a campaign to save the Ravensbourne Arms as a vital community space at the heart of Ladywell. Developers want to convert the building into yet another House in Multiple Occupation. While we recognise the urgent need for more housing in London, it cannot come at the cost of losing the community spaces that bring neighbourhoods together. Whatever the outcome of this election, Labour will continue to stand with residents and fight to keep the Ravensbourne Arms as a community asset for Ladywell. You can sign our online petition here: https://survey.labour.org.uk/protectravensbournearms

Our opponents in this election are only just putting forward a local manifesto for Lewisham, despite it being just days before the election. Instead, their focus is on issues well beyond the powers of the council, offering simplistic slogans on complex international conflicts while ignoring the everyday decisions that matter here in Ladywell. Far from “sending a message to government”, all this does is show a fundamental misunderstanding of what local government does — and of what it takes to do the hard work of delivering for residents locally for the next four years.

By contrast, your Labour candidates understand both the responsibilities and the possibilities of local government. Labour has set out a clear and ambitious manifesto rooted in fairness, community and practical action — focused on protecting what makes Lewisham special while investing in its future. From defending valued community spaces to improving services and opportunities for local people, Labour’s plan is about building a borough that works for everyone.

Our Manifesto – Lewisham Labour Party – Lewisham Labour

Contributions from other candidates can also be viewed on Ladywell Live

Nick Kelly for Ladywell – From Commentary to the Arena

Readers of this blog over the past eight years will know that I am, first and foremost, a commentator — someone who analyses and critiques policy and politics. That role matters. But, as the saying goes, it is not enough merely to interpret the world in various ways; the point is to change it.

Or, as Theodore Roosevelt put it more memorably:

It is not the critic who counts; the credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena.

Today, I am stepping into that arena.


I am standing as a Labour candidate for the Ladywell Ward in Lewisham, alongside my running mates Collet Hunter and Ayesha Lahai‑Taylor. The question I’ve been asked most often is a simple one: why?


You can hear part of my answer here:

Nick Kelly explaining why he is running for Labour in Ladywell.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister said everyone needs “Someone to Love, Somewhere to Live, Somewhere to Work, Something to Hope For”. In this sentence he summed my Labour values. My values.

In one sentence, he captured my Labour values — and my own.


Throughout my working life, I’ve stood alongside bus drivers, security guards, and trade unions, fighting for stability, justice, and respect. I’ve worked to keep helplines open for older people escaping abuse — ensuring that when they needed someone to listen, someone was there, and that there was a pathway to safety and dignity.


Lewisham matters deeply to me because it reminds me of Upper Hutt, where I grew up: vibrant, alive, shaped by the strength of its communities. But I also see familiar challenges — particularly the shortage of safe, secure, genuinely affordable housing for everyone who calls this place home.


Over the coming weeks, I’ll be using this blog to set out how Labour can help build a Lewisham that works for everyone — and to explain why I am asking for your support for Collet, Ayesha, and me in Ladywell.


Watch this space.