“Even in a coalition, if you don’t agree with what the other party is doing, you don’t have to go along with it,” Brandon Estate resident Les said. “You can still say ‘no, we don’t agree with that!’”
He was watching an argument between Liberal Democrat candidate Abdul Gbla and Labour’s John Batteson as part of our Southwark Soapbox series to boost turnout in May’s upcoming local elections. Both Mr Gbla and Mr Batteson, as well as the Green Party’s Clare Wood, are standing in Newington on May 5.
The argument came after Mr Batteson blamed Labour’s massive cuts to the budget for community wardens – people whose job is to stop anti-social behaviour – on reductions to local authority funding from the government by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition.
Asked whether he thought his party’s cuts were a mistake, Mr Gbla tried to deflect the blame.
“Yes we were in government with the Conservatives, and there are certain things that we were not in control of. Obviously there are certain things that we had to compromise on, you know, because of the coalition that we had.
“But fast forward to where we are now and it’s been seven years since we’ve been out of government and Labour’s been there [in control of Southwark Council] since 2010.”
Southwark Soapbox: our Newington residents share their crime horror stories
Brandon Estate resident Ola was – like Les – not impressed with Mr Gbla.
“Why are you playing the blaming game?,” she said. “Be careful! Because to me it seems like he doesn’t know the history of the party he’s representing, to know that they started the whole cuts, cuts, cuts, cutting things – from when they went into coalition with the Conservatives.”
Southwark Soapbox: how would the parties help keep our streets safe?
Mr Batteson said that funding cuts to community wardens weren’t the only reason for residents feeling there had been a rise in anti-social behaviour on their streets – and pointed to the cost of living crisis as another factor.
But Neil didn’t agree. “That’s not really an excuse,” he said. “‘I’m poor so I let a firework off in the street’… ‘I’ve got a hard time at home so I’m waving a knife in front of a window.’ Yeah maybe but it doesn’t necessarily connect.”
Brandon Estate resident Kate, who lives with her mother Paula, was more sympathetic to this argument. “Money issues, that does cause people to act out of course, if people are struggling, struggling for food, for anything, it just makes them act out, but that’s not the sole reason”.
Southwark Soapbox: residents shocked at ‘astonishing’ lack of youth services in Newington ward
Ms Wood said she felt community wardens were important because they have a relationship with residents.
Kym, Les’ partner, disagreed. “I think they’d get a lot of stick… They’re not an authority, are they.”
Les chimed in: “They’re not going to take any notice of them, they’d just be laughing at them, like the community police. They’re going to laugh at them – ‘you can’t do nothing mate!’”
- NOTE – The News would like to make clear that despite repeated requests throughout our filming the Conservative Party in Southwark declined to join in our debates
WHY SHOULD YOU VOTE ON MAY 5TH?
- Your council makes important decisions and has responsibility for a huge range of things that affect your everyday life – from what housing gets built and where, to closing off roads to cars and keeping the streets clean and tidy.
- Individual councillors in your area are also meant to help you with problems that you come to them with.
- Southwark Council has been controlled by the Labour Party since 2010. Some 48 out of 63 councillors are from Labour. Fourteen more are from the Liberal Democrats, and there is one councillor who is independent. There are no Conservative or Green Party councillors at the moment, although people from both parties are running in May.
- Local elections are normally held every four years. The elections to choose new Southwark councillors will take place on May 5 this year. You vote by ward – the area which you live in – for whichever candidates you want to represent you. Depending on the ward, there are either two or three councillors to choose.
- Any adult from the UK or EU living in the UK, or any adult from the Commonwealth with permission to stay in the UK can vote, as long as they register.
- You can find your councillors on Southwark Council’s website by searching online for ‘find Southwark councillors’. Or CLICK HERE to find your councillor
- You must be registered to vote by 11.59pm on April 14. Register to vote here.