What a depressing month for politics! We’ve had the former Tory Deputy Chairman suspended for racism, Labour withdrawing support for their Rochdale Parliamentary candidate after comments about Israel and Jewish People, Liz Truss MP speaking at a far-right summit, and a former Home Secretary making Islamophobic statements. But it’s not just national politics, here in Southwark Labour councillors also had to apologise for making homophobic slurs and personal attacks at a Council meeting. With our politicians behaving so unacceptably it’s no wonder so many are switching off from politics. We need to pull politics out of the gutter, residents deserve better. 

Last week, Southwark Council’s Budget Assembly was sullied by inappropriate, snide personal comments and homophobic slurs. Rather than focusing on the harmful cuts to the most vulnerable, Labour councillors deflected attention away and resorted to bullying playground politics.

One Labour councillor suggested I don’t understand the need for greater equality because I’m just “a white gay man”. Another suggested I spend more on my hair than the Labour waste on vague Deputy Cabinet posts with no clear mandate or impact (for the record, I don’t spend £29,000 on it!).

In fact, Southwark Liberal Democrats were putting forward our Alternative Budget to directly reverse the damaging £2m Labour cuts that Southwark’s Equality Assessments said would impact the most vulnerable. For the second year in a row, Southwark’s independent Equalities and Human Rights Panel could not endorse the Council’s assessments of the impact the Budget will have. 

Our plan showed Labour that, by cutting down on Town Hall waste and raising more income, we could freeze council tax for the most vulnerable and prevent damaging care cuts. Unfortunately, Labour rejected the chance to put residents first, and unanimously voting down our proposals.

This Paper regularly highlights how Southwark Labour are failing to get the basics right. Yet Labour still voted down our bold plan to address the council’s poor record on customer service and housing repairs. We want to use existing facilities, such as libraries, to set up “one stop shops” to improve council services across the borough. 

Just one week after Sir Keir Starmer ditched Labour’s climate pledge, Southwark Labour refused to back our plans which would allow Southwark to go Greener, Faster. It’s a Climate EMERGENCY, but you wouldn’t recognise it if you listened to Labour. 

Most of us, in every party, care about making things better for our residents and not to make cuts or attack opponents and minorities. The current underfunding of local government and the toxic, divisive politics of the last decade have led to this culture war which has infected every level of British politics, including here in Southwark. Perhaps not surprising when a local Labour MP had the Whip removed over complaints about racist comments and members of Southwark’s Cabinet failed to support trans residents at the last election. 

We need to encourage more people into politics and from a greater diversity of backgrounds, to make positive differences to our communities. But while homophobic, racist and personal abuse is so prevalent, I wouldn’t recommend it right now. 

It’s time we focused on constructive political debate, valued diversity, gave dissenting alternatives voice and got on with actually doing the job for residents!