On Wednesday the 7th of February BBC London reported on the Elm Road fire, which resident Marianne says “could have been another grenfell”
"Safety of the Residents was not [Octavia’s] number one consideration” said Barry.
Residents claim no fire alarms went off during blaze in Wembley block
David Talbot, an Octavia Housing resident who lived with his wife Jacqueline in a block connected to the one that caught fire, added that flammable cladding on the flats looked “like a matchbox waiting to go up”.
Barry Gardiner has stated his belief that Octavia had “chosen to engage in a protracted dispute” with Vistry, the developer of the block, rather than remove the cladding itself, despite being aware for years that “Grenfell-style” combustible cladding was on the building.
The Labour MP also accused the London landlord of “sitting on their hands” after he repeatedly raised concerns about the building’s safety defects months before a fire engulfed the block in flames.
Read the full article in Inside Housing here.
Elm Road Fire: ITV News Report
On the 6th of February ITV did a report on the Elm Road fire, where 70 resident were evacuated.
The report speaks to Samantha, a resident on Elm Court Road and Barr y Gardiner MP. Samantha said she will “never feel safe again”.
Octavia “needs to step in” and cover the cost of all the possessions people lost, either in the fire or from subsequent water damage - Barry Gardiner
Wembley fire: Grenfell lessons 'not learned' as blaze residents 'told to stay put' in flats
Barry Gardiner claimed that the incident showed the “lessons of Grenfell” have not been learned.
He said he had written to the block’s owners, Octavia Housing, “repeatedly” and met with the CEO last November after constituents complained of fire safety flaws.
Mr Gardiner told the Standard: “I think what is so shocking is that we know that the cladding on this building is similar to the cladding at Grenfell. They’ve known for three years now that this was the case.
"And they have not got it sorted. I’ve been writing letters, emails repeatedly. It is just an atrocious example that shows the lessons from Grenfell have not been learned.”
Mr Gardiner held a meeting with residents, London Fire Brigade (LFB) and Octavia Housing staff at the Brent Civic Centre.
He said it had emerged that “fire alarms had failed to go off, police had incorrectly advised residents to ‘stay put’ in their flats and Octavia Housing had failed to repair gas boilers and appliances for over six months”.
Read the full article in the Evening Standard here.
The Feudal Leasehold System That Threatens a Repeat of the Grenfell Disaster
Last week a block of flats on Elm Road in my Brent North constituency caught fire. It took five hours, 125 firefighters and 20 fire engines to bring the fire under control. Thankfully, it was not another Grenfell – all residents were evacuated to safety – but the reason the fire spread so quickly was because, six years on from that tragedy, this building still had Grenfell-style combustible cladding on the outside.
Octavia Housing, who own the block of flats, attended a residents meeting which we held three days later. The acting Chief Executive was keen to assure everyone that Octavia’s “top concern, was residents’ safety”. However, the truth is that for the past three years Octavia have known about the combustible cladding but have instead engaged in a protracted dispute with the original developers, Vistry, rather than get on and remove the cladding themselves and argue about who ought to pay for it, later.
This is the very sort of legal wrangling that Michael Gove’s Building Safety Act was supposed to stop. It hasn’t. In reality, the Act has trapped thousands of residents living in Leasehold apartments with multiple fire safety defects. They are prisoners in their own homes.
Read Barry’s full op-ed in ByLine Times here.
Tory leasehold reform won’t fix this feudal system – here’s how Labour can
“An End to Feudalism” was the promise our party first made to leaseholders in 1995. It was the title of a pamphlet authored by Nick Raynsford and Frank Dobson, Keir Starmer’s predecessor in Holborn and St Pancras, and it gave hope to millions of leaseholders in advance of the 1997 election.
We failed them. The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act of 2002 was a weak act that watered down key demands and failed to do away with the corrupt rentier system.
Nearly 30 years later and we are back here again, with a weak Conservative bill too afraid of the property industry and unwilling to give people true ownership over their own homes. Soon it will fall to on an incoming Labour government to remedy this long-standing injustice.
Over five million people now live in leasehold properties in the UK. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill has just concluded its clause by clause scrutiny stage in Parliament.
The Bill makes it slightly easier for existing leaseholders to extend their lease or buy their freehold, but does nothing for millions of leaseholders trapped in properties they can neither afford nor sell.
The government’s bill is 133 pages of tinkering with a fundamentally unjust system. Leasehold needs abolishing, not updating. It’s a relic of a feudal system.
Read the full piece in LabourList here.
MP Barry Gardiner says he warned of fire in Elm Road Wembley
Around 125 firefighters tackled the blaze in Elm Road, Wembley, last night (January 29).
The fire damaged half of the exterior of the building and all of its roof.
The London Fire Brigade says initial reports show cladding "was involved", though the cause is not known.
Barry has slammed a housing association that he says was “repeatedly warned” about a fire risk in a block of flats that was engulfed in flames.
You can read the full piece in the Brent and Kilburn Times here.
Elm Road Fire: Octavia have demonstrated a complete failure of their responsibility
On the 30th of January 2023 Barry went on BBC News to express his anger and frustration over the major incident on Elm Road.
An investigation has been launched after 125 firefighters spent hours tackling a blaze which engulfed a block of flats on Elm Road.
Families demand cladding investigation after fleeing from Wembley flats fire
Families have demanded an investigation after fire tore through their north London block of flats.
Firefighters were still dampening down the block in Elm Road, Wembley, on Tuesday morning, 16 hours after hundreds of people were first evacuated.
Brent North MP Barry Gardiner said the block’s managers were “repeatedly warned” about fire safety risks after learning the building had “unsafe cladding” three years ago.
You can read the full article, published in the Evening Standard here.
Barry Gardiner Says Leasehold System Is Trapping People In Homes They Can't Sell
Labour MP Barry Gardiner has put forward an amendment to the Leasehold and Freehold Bill to reform service charges and remove another income stream for freeholders, as he continues to campaign for the abolition of the leasehold system.
The MP for Brent North has campaigned to end the leasehold system for more than two decades, and advocates for replacing it with commonhold. Commonhold allows residents in a block of flats or estate to own the freehold of their building, and removes the time limit which people can live in their accommodation for. This system is used in the United States, Australia and across Europe.
Gardiner told PoliticsHome the leasehold system has inflicted human suffering on millions of people, and has trapped many of his constituents in homes they do not want to live in and cannot afford to sell.
“We haven’t begun to talk about the human problems here. About the people who have huge mental health problems, the people who have committed suicide,” he said, referring to the emotional toll he believed leasehold has caused for many.
“Many of them have found that they’re trapped, they can’t move…. We're closing down their abilities to have families. They want to move to a larger property, but nobody will buy the one that they’re in. They can't move. [Leasehold] is a nightmare for people.”
Read the full piece written by Tom Scotson in PoliticsHome, published on the 22nd of January 2024 here.
Leasehold needs to be abolished, and the government aren't doing enough
On the 21st of January 2024, Barry spoke to Camilla Tominey on her GB News show to discuss the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, which is currently going through its committee stage in parliament.
Barry is sitting on the Bill committee hearing evidence from leaseholders who are recounting how the feudal housing system has impacted them.
At the end of January, Barry will be launching a documentary into Leasehold, visit the website here for more information.
Israel Gaza War: Barry will vote for a ceasefire today
On the 15th of November 2023 Barry went on the Today Programme to explain why he will be voting for a ceasefire today in parliament.
Barry responded to Sir Keir Starmer’s position that a ceasefire would only freeze the situation. On the contrary Barry points out that any ceasefire depends on what is negotiated and will only happen through pressure by the international community.
The Government's crime policies are nothing but "window dressing"
On the 7th of November 2023 Barry went on LBC Cross Questions with Iain Dale in reaction the King’s Speech. The panel answered questions on criminal sentencing laws, pro-palestine protests, if Suella Braverman is a “decent” Home Secretary and the Covid Inquiry.
Barry argued that, whilst he welcomes tougher sentences for violent crimes, they are nothing but “window dressing” without increasing court and prison capacity.
We must take moral leadership and negotiate a ceasefire
On the 3rd of November 2023 Barry told Politics Joe that Keir Starmer must take “moral leadership” and call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Barry tells ITV News that a Ceasefire Can Bring Hope
In his interview with ITV News, Barry responded to Sir Keir Starmer’s speech where the party leader said a ceasefire would only freeze the situation. On the contrary Barry points out that any ceasefire depends on what is negotiated and will only happen through pressure by the international community.
We need a "transformative plan for our economy" - that is new green infrastructure
On the 11th of October 2023 Barry spoke to spoke to Jacob Jarvis on the Oh God What Now podcast about the chaos of the Tories' reign so far, Keir Starmer's housing ambitions and the need for leasehold reform.
“In the second world war, we built ships in 4 days” we can fight the climate crisis with the war footing that we need. “If we don’t win this war we will lose jobs and our economy will fail” - Barry.
You can watch the full interview below:
Working to make people in Brent feel confident in their own safety
On the 30th of October 2023 Barry went on BBC Politics Live to discuss the latest updates in the Israel-Gaza conflict, the build up to the King’s Speech and the upcoming AI summit to be held in the UK in early November.
In Brent we have the largest Jewish school in Europe and we have a large Muslim community. "In the wake of the conflict in Israel and Gaza “we have managed to make sure that people are talking to each other… with all groups to make sure that local people feel confident in their safety, and that’s on both sides” - Barry.
Ofwat are "trying to pull the wool over the public's eyes " - it is a disgrace
On the 26th of September 2023, Barry went on Times Radio to break down the £114m cut from water bills that Ofwat have ordered upon water companies.
“The largest fine that they've given out is for Thames Water, and that's £101 million “ Barry explained, “Thames Water serves 15 million people. That means off their next annual bill, each person will get £6.70.”
Meanwhile, Ofwat have allowed the former owners of Thames Water, Macquarie, to “triple the debt of that company, and then to take out £2.7 billion.”.
Climate change should be science led, not politics led
“Doing nothing is not an option here”, said Barry on LBC News on the 20th of September 2023.
Rishi Sunak’s Net Zero roll back will cost the economy and it will cost us the chance of achieving a “new green economy”.
This is not a time for “less action”, Barry argued, outlining the economic and scoietal benefits to a green transition.
Labour must be prepared to defend net zero – and fight a snap election
On the 21st of September 2023 Barry wrote an article in LabourList criticisng Rishi Sunak’s Net Zero rollback and advising everyone to get ready for a snap election.
“Rishi Sunak has now fired the starting pistol for the November election. Not November 2024 – November 2023! With Labour 18 points ahead in the polls, it takes something as dramatic as breaking the 15-year bipartisan consensus on climate change to create the clear political separation that Tory strategists think they need to have a fighting chance. They see climate change as the issue in 2023 that Brexit was for them in 2019.”
You can read the full article here.