Labour accused the new administration of “tarnishing the borough’s reputation” with its decision to pursue de-twinning from Haifa in Israel
Hackney Council’s Labour opposition has launched a scathing attack on the ruling Green administration, claiming it is ignoring local issues while “quietly overturning” their election manifesto pledges.
Labour, which had controlled the East London council continuously since 2002 until May, suggested the new Mayor of Hackney, Zoë Garbett, and her party did not have a plan to carry out basic repairs in the borough and improve the lot of local residents.
The remarks follow an interview between Mayor Garbett and the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) last week (August 19), where the borough’s new leader suggested using compulsory purchase orders on private property in Hackney owned by offshore landlords as part of her flagship ‘Who Owns Hackney’ scheme.
Marking 100 days since entering office, she told the LDRS her administration had already set a “new tone” and was determined to do things differently in the borough, doubling down on more controversial positions including rejecting statutory guidance on single-sex spaces in Hackney. Garbett has since clarified that she would welcome trans women using women’s toilets in the borough.
The Mayor also flagged that under her leadership the council has begun deploying drones to replace scaffolding for routine inspections of council blocks. She also ruled out pursuing a “no-cuts” budget, as some figures within the Green Party across England have reportedly been mulling in a bid to avoid austerity.
In its broadside against the new administration, Labour accused the Greens of failing to speak out over potential bus cuts affecting the borough’s residents or dealing with broken lifts – an issue that plagued Hackney Council during Labour’s last term in office.
The opposition accused the Greens of several policy U-turns since taking power, such as “overturning” promises not to increase nursery fees and “evicting a family from an illegally sub-let home” once in power after campaigning against the eviction beforehand.
“Drones to tackle housing repairs are no substitute for the assessment of a fully qualified surveyor, and drones cannot tackle damp and disrepair inside homes which is one of the main problems in Hackney,” the Labour spokesperson said.
Following the council’s recent decision to pursue de-twinning from Haifa in Israel, and Mayor Garbett’s subsequent apology over a “serious mistake” regarding the consultation deadline, Labour claimed the Greens’ focus on international affairs had “tarnished the council’s reputation for fairness and long-held commitment to equality”.
Labour’s uninterrupted rule over Hackney came to an end at the 2026 local elections, when the party’s commanding 43-seat majority collapsed to nine council seats amid an unprecedented surge in support for the Greens.
During the election campaign, Labour trumpeted its various achievements in office including funding community energy projects, improving local SATs results and its implementing a borough-wide landlord licensing policy.
In its last term the Labour administration notably presided over a regulatory downgrade regarding the state of its stock – followed by a damning Ombudsman report regarding housing disrepair complaints. The watchdog judged that Hackney was an “outlier” compared to other local authorities.
The party was also rocked by a scandal in 2023, when newly-elected councillor Tom Dewey was convicted for possession of indecent images of children, which ultimately led to Labour Mayor Philip Glanville’s resignation.
Speaking to the LDRS, a spokesperson for Mayor Garbett dubbed the opposition’s complaints an “inaccurate shopping list”.
“We promised to fix what’s broken and get the basics right, and are happy to hear that Labour now supports this too. As a result of our pledge, we have seen a massive uptake of people coming to the council with their needs, because they trust that this new administration is there for them,” the spokesperson said.
“And despite only being a few months in, we are delivering results, with a 37.5% increase in enforcement action against rogue landlords, and a 38% increase in enforcement staff to make sure renters are supported; a reduction of the use of scaffolding in our neighbourhoods whilst speeding up repairs; a review of nursery fees to make them fairer, and borough-wide work to take spaces back for our communities.
“Whilst much of this shopping list of issues is outright inaccurate, we nonetheless welcome scrutiny from our Labour colleagues and are always happy to work together constructively on ideas they want to suggest. Hackney asked us to deliver bigger, bolder change. As we begin that work, and with much more to come, they are welcome to be part of that change too.”
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