Southwark Council's Council Assembly has debated and adopted a new joint administration's ambitious plan for the borough, focusing on affordability, safety, and environmental sustainability. The meeting on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, saw councillors approve several motions addressing critical local and national issues.
The new Joint Administration, formed by the Green and Liberal Democrat groups following the 2026 local elections, has outlined a vision to make Southwark more affordable, safer, and greener. This plan acknowledges significant challenges, including high child poverty rates (43.3% after housing costs), the impacts of climate breakdown, a social housing waiting list of 23,000 households, and 41% of residents feeling unsafe at night.
The administration inherits a grim legacy
from the previous Labour administration, including a housing department rated as having serious failings
by the Regulator of Social Housing and a £102 million funding gap attributed to the Labour government's fair-funding
review. The motion adopted by the Council Assembly commits to developing a full Borough Action Plan over the next four years, focusing on making Southwark affordable, taking serious action on climate, tackling the housing crisis, making the borough safer, delivering clean and green streets, defending Southwark's interests, and creating a council that listens and residents can shape.
To address the 43.3% child poverty rate, the Joint Administration's plan includes tackling the cost of living, increasing access to good jobs and affordable homes, and reducing inequality. The Borough Action Plan will aim to ensure that residents in Southwark find it easier to afford everyday essentials and more young people are in good and sustainable jobs and training.
The administration has also launched a new programme for providing uniforms for families in need.
Regarding the housing crisis, with a social housing waiting list of 23,000 households, the Joint Administration plans to build more council homes, ensuring council tenants and leaseholders are satisfied with the service they receive, and reducing the number of void properties and the length of time properties are empty.
A new empty homes task force has been established to expedite the turnaround of void properties. These measures are intended to address the serious failings
previously identified in the housing department by the Regulator of Social Housing.
The environmental sustainability plan aims to deliver a step change in local adaptation measures with a focus on climate justice, enhancing Southwark's biodiversity and green and blue space, further reducing the borough's emissions, and recycling significantly more of our waste.
To combat the impacts of climate breakdown, Southwark's heatwave response has been accelerated through a borough-wide plan, and new community skips have been launched to encourage responsible bulky waste disposal and tackle fly-tipping.
The initiative to 'make Southwark safer' will involve tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, putting prevention first and taking effective enforcement action to build safer neighbourhoods, and prioritising preventing violence against women and girls.
The plan also states that they will also protect residents from accelerating climate impacts, such as extreme heat.
The meeting documents repeatedly mention a funding gap of £102 million thanks to the Labour government's so-called 'fair-funding' review.
The Joint Administration has Challenged the Government and Southwark's MPs to demand more support to tackle the £102 million gap, and worked with other councils through an Anti-Austerity Summit to fight for a fair deal for Southwark.
They also state they will be loud and bold in our asks of this Labour government, who have left Southwark with a £102 million funding gap.
Progress already made by the new administration includes launching a uniform programme for families in need, accelerating the heatwave response, and investing £600,000 in Night Time Patrols. The plan also aims to ensure Southwark is a place where people can grow up and grow old well. The Joint Administration resolves to turn these priorities into a full Borough Action Plan guiding the Joint Administration's work over the next four years.
