Support Pete Mason in Barking Thames ward!

I live on the Thames View Estate in Barking. To the south, another estate of the Thames ward in Barking, is Barking Reach. A local Residents’ and Tenant’s Leader and Socialist who lives there, Pete Mason, is standing for the Council, and also the List in the Greater London election, as part of TUSC (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition). I will be supporting him in the forthcoming election. I recommend you do, too. He’s a brilliant campaigner, and it would be great if we put his talents to work across the entire ward, as well as the Estate he lives on! This is what he has to say:

Bring the building companies to account!

I’m standing in Barking’s Thames ward, where I live, firstly because the Barking Reach Residents Association committee have unanimously urged me to stand. We believe it is time to elect someone who truly represents our estate.

Pete Mason speaks at Residents Protest, Caspian Quarter, Barking

As chair of the residents association, I have campaigned on countless issues on the Barking Riverside estate. But we know that without political change, there will always be landlords bringing problems we have to fight. We are in the process of winning “Right to Manage” for blocks of flats, and official recognition for the residents association from landlords.

Fire

Wooden balconies burning at Samuel Garside House

In June 2019, our estate suffered a terrible fire, which consumed the wooden balconies of Samuel Garside House. The fire brigade said it was an accident waiting to happen. We built a website, http://barkingriversidefire.com, which exposes the failures of the builders, the landlords and the managing agents.

The day after the fire I proposed a meeting to take place in four days, and the council and the landlords knew that they had to come up with a solution by then. 200 residents turned up, and the builder, Bellway, the landlords and even someone from the government Ministry of Housing.

Cladding crisis continues

They agreed to remove the wood from the buildings and houses free of charge, with resident agreement on the replacement, and we demanded resident control over the estate and the removal of the landlord Adriatic.

But now six more blocks of flats on the estate are suffering. The worst failure is again flammable balconies! And residents have been told Bellway is unlikely to fix the issues. Residents fear they will have to take out government loans.

Yet Bellway has just declared a half yearly operating profit of almost £300 million!

This is grossly unfair. The housing system in the country is broken — it is in the greatest crisis since the Second World War. The top building companies have all failed and should be nationalised so that a single, democratically controlled, public entity in London can build houses while putting safety and quality first instead of profit.

Bellway should replace the balconies and fix the defective cavity barriers at no cost to residents. Residents are urgently pressing for an answer from Bellway on this. If elected I will demand they immediately remedy the problems.

Peter addressing meeting of Residents and Tenants after the Samuel Garside fire

What are our policies?

Our policies have been drawn up by the residents on the estate.

• Cladding scandal: make all homes fire safe!
• Builders and developers must cover the cost!
• Fix the heating and hot water!
• End unfair service charges!

Developers and landlords to:-

• Increase security across the estate.
• Improve community engagement, particularly more support for youth activities and facilities.

More generally, we demand:

• Abolish leasehold in sales of all new dwellings and allow existing leaseholders to become full owners (freehold or commonhold) with a transparent process and no fees.
• Remove the landlord Adriatic from the estate!
• Safe and robust housing for all at affordable prices!

Across the Thames Ward

Housing System is Broken

The housing system in this country is completely broken – it is in the greatest crisis since the Second World War. The top six building companies have all failed and should be nationalised so that a single, democratically controlled, public entity in London can build houses while putting safety and quality first instead of profit.

If Barking Council and the GLA had, in this way, built safe and robust council properties with front and back gardens, at genuinely affordable rents, they would point the way to solve the housing crisis and be earning income from rent on top.

Instead, on the Thames View Estate, council homes in Stebbing Way are being demolished in order to make way for apartment blocks. Some of these apartments will be at supposedly affordable rents, but even these will be £50 a week more than the homes they are replacing. Others will be much dearer.

I will demand that new homes are owned by the council, on council land, at council rents. No to demolition of Council Homes unless replaced by at least as many, and better council homes.

Council Parking Schemes

Council Parking schemes make it difficult for residents and their visitors, and are a money-making scam for for the council. We don't need them. If there is a problem of non-residents parking to the exclusion of locals, before continuing their journey into work, then I would propose a better way to deal with that! I would propose the ending of CPZ schemes that are not supported by local residents.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC)

The only electoral coalition that supports all this is the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), which my party, the Socialist Party, is part of. That’s why I’m standing for the TUSC Greater London Authority list too.

Promoted by Shabana Qazi, 34 Lawes Way, Barking, IG11 0PD, on behalf of
Pete Mason, 29 Riverdale Close, Barking IG11 0GQ.