Tag: Lewisham Labour

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

Local Action to Clean the River Ravensbourne at Ladywell Fields

Yesterday the Labour team joined the Ladywell Fields River Clean-Up. These events are regularly organised by local volunteers to clean the River Ravensbourne. These volunteers are the unsung hero’s of our community who ensure that our local parks and waters ways are protected. It was a privilege to spend time with them yesterday.

Ayesha Lahai-Taylor, Collet Hunter and Nick Kelly, Labour candidates in Ladywell Ward, Lewisham, walking back from the River clean-up in Ladywell Fields, Saturday 11 April 2026.

That London, the third‑largest city in Europe, has an urban waterway teeming with wildlife and plant life is something truly extraordinary. It is a shared asset we must actively protect as a community. Although it was a privilege to be part of the clean‑up, it was also a saddening insight into how poorly some still treat this precious environment.

Ayesha Lahai Taylor and I in our waders cleaning the River Ravensbourne.

In Notes from a Small Island, published in 1995, Bill Bryson wryly described what he called Britain’s “annual festival of litter,” observing how people seemed to find time to scatter crisp packets, empty cigarette boxes, and plastic bags across the landscape. That line stayed with me as I stood by the Ravensbourne.

Talking with Robert, a local volunteer who has been cleaning the river for more than 25 years, put things into perspective. He told me the river is in far better shape than it was two decades ago, when it was common to haul out mattresses—and even the occasional moped. Listening to him brought back memories of the Hutt River in Upper Hutt, where I grew up in New Zealand, which suffered from similar problems years ago. It struck me then that this isn’t a London problem, or even a UK problem. Litter and pollution are human problems, and the difference comes down to whether enough people choose to care.

Colette Hunter, Ayesha Lahai-Tayer and me in the River Ravensbourne.

In the river we found car hubcaps, bike parts, piles of CDs (perhaps the aftermath of a messy breakup and an act of revenge?), vape components, crisp packets, wine and beer bottles, and an assortment of other discarded rubbish. What felt particularly ironic was that, along much of this stretch of river, you have to walk past several clearly placed litter bins just to reach the water—making the decision to throw waste into the river a conscious choice rather than an accident.

Above: Collet snapped a photo of me and the real estate sign I found at the bottom of the river.

Clearly, more needs to be done to prevent fly‑tipping—especially the dumping of rubbish into our rivers. One positive step is the Labour Lewisham Council’s recent decision to reduce the cost of bulky waste collection to £5 per item, replacing the previous flat rate of £42 for up to four large items. By making it easier and more affordable to dispose of bulky household waste responsibly, measures like this should help reduce both fly‑tipping on land and the thoughtless dumping of rubbish into our waterways.

But ultimately, the small minority to chose to discard their rubbish in this way need to be held to account. Labour have promised to install more CCTV at fly-tipping hotspots and fine those who blight our Lewisham borough. Lewisham Labour also promise to reintroducing town-centre managers who will work directly with the police to make our town centres safer and more welcoming places to visit. To find out more read our manifesto: Our Manifesto – Lewisham Labour Party – Lewisham Labour

Our park volunteers are community champions—but they can’t do it alone. Clean rivers and healthy green spaces depend on all of us stepping up.