DON'T LET LABOUR TURN THE LIGHTS DOWN
Lambeth’s Labour council plans to dim street lighting by 20% at certain times across the Borough. The plan to save energy will cost £4 million to implement and make residents feel more unsafe in a city where 83% of women have experienced harassment in a public space in the last two years. Don't let Labour turn the lights down. Sign our petition.
Cllr Donna Harris responds to Labour's denial
Angry Lambeth Liberal Democrats have accused Labour of “denials and U-turns” after the Council’s Deputy Leader Rezina Chowdhury claimed that there never were plans to dim street lighting - despite the proposal appearing in last year’s Labour Budget.
The row comes as national planning proposals have been slammed for failing to mention the safety of women and girls at all, raising fresh concerns about Labour’s approach to public safety at every level of government.
At a recent community meeting with the Metropolitan Police, Deputy Leader of Lambeth Council Cllr Rezina Chowdhury told residents:
“There are no plans to reduce or dim street lighting. Rumours to the contrary are false.”
Lambeth Lib Dems say that statement directly contradicts Labour’s own budget proposals last year, which explicitly included plans to dim streetlights. Attributed to Cllr Chowdhury, the plan was for a saving of £1.9m over four years. The proposal was even reported in the Daily Mail, with the Council quoted as saying that it would dim streetlights “mostly during the middle of the night.” It was also mentioned at a Lambeth Cabinet meeting in November 2025, when the financial benefits were being assessed.
Enquiries by the Lib Dems found that, far from not existing, the “Council’s dimming proposal,” as explained to them in writing by Council Officers, was to dim streetlights by 10% from 10.00pm to midnight, and by 20% from midnight to 6.00am.
The Lib Dems say Labour is now attempting to rewrite history after being caught on the wrong side of public opinion.
Cllr Donna Harris, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Lambeth Council, who led opposition to the plans, said:
“This wasn’t a rumour. It was in Labour’s budget, in plain black and white. We fought to have it knocked back because dimming streetlights would have made Lambeth less safe - especially for women and girls.”
She added:
“Now Labour is pretending it never happened. From streetlighting to gaslighting, this looks like another Labour U-turn followed by denial. Residents deserve honesty, not revisionism.”
The controversy follows a Guardian report in January that new national planning proposals make no mention whatsoever of women’s and girls’ safety, despite overwhelming evidence that lighting, visibility and street design are crucial to preventing violence and harassment.
Cllr Harris said the local and national pictures were impossible to ignore:
“Women already plan their lives around fear - changing routes, checking over their shoulders, avoiding dark streets. Labour’s answer in Lambeth was to make streets darker, then deny it ever happened. Nationally, they don’t even mention women’s safety in planning policy. It’s the same mindset playing out again and again.”
Lambeth Liberal Democrats published a critique of Labour’s cuts last November. It set out the yardstick by which they would judge future cuts. This included that any cuts should not harm public safety.
They are now demanding that Labour:
Admit that streetlight dimming was included in last year’s budget
Explain why Cllr Chowdhury, Lambeth Council’s Deputy Leader, is now denying it
Publicly guarantee that street lighting will never again be used as a budget-cutting target
Cllr Harris added:
“You can’t quietly drop a bad idea and then claim it was a rumour. Labour proposed it, Lib Dems opposed it, and now Labour is pretending it never existed. That raises serious questions about trust.”
Notes to Readers:
The proposal to dim streetlights was in line 38 of Appendix 4 to Lambeth’s Budget Report 2025-26.
The Liberal Democrats' Alternative Budget aimed to reverse the cut as item 1 of its spending plans, p6
