Leading Housing Campaigner "Frustrated" With Labour Over Lack Of Lisa Nandy Meeting
Lisa Nandy in January 2023 (Alamy)
2 min read
Housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa has said he is “frustrated” with Labour, having “never met or spoken to” shadow Secretary of State, Lisa Nandy.
Tweneboa went viral after raising concerns over the conditions in the south London housing association flat he was living in with his family, including his terminally ill father, and has since become a prominent activist appearing on television and meeting Secretary of State Michael Gove.
But Tweneboa, 24, has now told The House magazine that he is “so disappointed” with what he has heard from Keir Starmer’s party on housing.
He said that he has met shadow housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, but “I’ve never met or spoken to Lisa Nandy”.
“She followed me back on Twitter but I have never met her," he explained.
“I’ve met with the secretary of state but I’ve heard nothing from Labour.”
Tweneboa said he does not “know what their proposal is” and has “had a go at Keir Starmer a few times publicly.”
“Because it’s like, you’re Labour, you’re supposed to be for the people and a lot of your voters will be in social housing, living on estates. I’m so disappointed, so disappointed.”
While he told The House he does not want to come across as a “Gove cheerleader”, he said he does want to give good work recognition and that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is making progress.
“I’ve met with Michael Gove, I’ve sat in meetings with the department and I see what they’re doing and they are making progress,” he continued.
“What I’ve seen from him is what I want to see from all politicians – that’s them going out and speaking to people that are going to be affected by the decisions they’re making. I haven’t seen that from Labour as of yet, I’m hoping they do get on it.”
When asked whether he had a similar relationship with Nandy, Tweneboa said: “No and I’m very frustrated.”
While Tweneboa has not met with Nandy, it is understood that the shadow secretary of state would be “happy” to do so, and that he has been invited by the Labour party to take part in roundtables on housing policy.
A spokesperson for Nandy said: “Since taking office Lisa has worked with a wide range of stakeholders involved in rebuilding Britain’s housing stock and improving safety and standards for tenants, including renters, tenants’ groups, campaigners, local government, housing associations and developers. We will continue to do this as we build our programme for government.”
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