Southwark Liberal Democrat Manifesto 2026 Liberal Democrats will fix Southwark Our 6 to fix Freeze council tax for the poorest households Double the number of community safety officers to make our streets safer Ensure half of all new homes built are genuinely affordable Open one stop shops for council services in every neighbourhood Create 8 new parks and green spaces Open 5 new youth centres Foreword - from Cllr Victor Chamberlain and Cllr Rachel Bentley Southwark LIberal Democrats will fix Southwark We will freeze council tax for the poorest, fight crime by recruiting more community safety wardens, and make sure that 50% of new homes built are genuinely affordable. Labour has been running the council for 16 years, and with a Labour London Mayor and now Labour government, they are still letting us down. Despite promising to mend public services, the Labour Government has left Southwark Council with an £80 million budget black hole over the next three years. On 7th May, local people have the opportunity to vote for a better council – by voting for the Liberal Democrats to fix Southwark. Our Labour-run council has been deep in scandals, has overseen a ballooning housing crisis and failed to tackle the cost of living. Meanwhile, our Labour London Mayor has let crimes like phone snatching reach all-time highs. Liberal Democrats will help people struggling with the cost of living, make our streets safer and cleaner, and build more affordable homes. We will invest in our communities and make Southwark a place where people feel proud to live and work. Only Liberal Democrats beat Labour here. Not a single Conservative, Reform UK, Green Party or independent has been elected as a Southwark councillor in the last twelve years. This manifesto is our bold, liberal plan for change. Chapter 1: Backing our communities The cost of living crisis is breaking our communities. The Labour council have raised Council Tax every year to the maximum and increased business rates, threatening small independent businesses. Meanwhile, the Labour government have raised taxes, failed to bring utility bills down and made huge cuts to welfare support. Liberal Democrats will: Freeze council tax for the poorest households who are struggling the most. We will do this by creating a fund to offset any council tax rises for those in receipt of council tax reduction payments Expand the council’s cost of living fund so anyone can apply for a grant if they are in financial difficulty Launch a rates relief fund to support local independent businesses and revive our high streets. We are proud of Southwark’s voluntary community sector, who provide vital support for local people and are valuable partners for the council. We would support charities and community groups by: Increasing grants to the sector to strengthen their sustainability Using money collected from developers to fund social infrastructure such as community halls, playgrounds, and workspaces Use the Voluntary Community Sector premises officer to help groups identify and move into premises. The council can often feel inaccessible, and residents struggle to get a response when they have questions or ask for help. Liberal Democrats will: Bring back neighbourhood community councils across Southwark to give local people much more say over how funding is spent in their areas and planning issues Ensure that all enquiries are answered within 7 days, and commitments are followed through Roll out one-stop-shops (similar to banking hubs) in every neighbourhood, open 7 days a week, so that council services are accessible to all when they need face to face help Make sure that services are equally accessible to everyone who is digitally excluded and support digital upskilling for older people. Southwark is proud to be a vibrant hub of diverse communities, which need our solidarity and support more than ever. Liberal Democrats will build on the existing strategies which support, protect and celebrate residents from all ethnic minority and faith backgrounds. We will develop an LGBTQ+ Action Plan to do the same for the growing LGBTQ+ population in Southwark, to help tackle homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, and support LGBQT+ community spaces and venues. We also back the London Liberal Democrats’ campaign for a disability champion at the Greater London Authority, and will make sure that accessibility – of our streets, buildings, and council services – is a top priority again. Backing our national campaigns Care: Caring is at the heart of the Liberal Democrats’ values. We all will either be caring for someone at home or require care at some point in our life. We back Ed Davey’s campaign to fix social care across the country, accelerating the delivery of wide-ranging reforms which Labour have kicked down the road. Hospitality: Southwark is a proud home to some of the best hospitality the country has to offer – from family-owned cafes to world renowned restaurants. Under the Tories and Labour, businesses like these have struggled, especially smaller businesses. We back the Liberal Democrat campaign to implement an emergency VAT cut on hospitality of 5%. Education: We would lend the council’s support to the national Liberal Democrat campaigns on education, including: Putting a dedicated, qualified mental health professional in every school Tripling the early years pupil premium Creating a lifelong skills grant for education and training. Spotlight on Making Southwark a Great Place to Grow Up Liberal Democrats want to see a Southwark where children and families can thrive – reversing the trend under Labour where that has become increasingly difficult. We want all our young people to grow up in a borough that gives them maximum opportunities to flourish. Liberal Democrats will: Increase investment in youth clubs – opening 5 new youth clubs across the borough Make sure there are more genuinely affordable family homes built so that schools aren’t forced to close Open a new, dedicated SEND school to support young people with additional needs, delivering millions of pounds of savings by the end of the council term. Strengthen partnerships in the private and voluntary sectors across the borough to increase youth employment and apprenticeships – creating 50 additional apprenticeships with the council or through partners every year Work with schools, community centres, and places of worship to open them up after school so young people have somewhere safe and warm to socialise and study in the evenings Make sure that all council play spaces, parks and green spaces are upgraded by 2030 Open 8 new parks or green spaces, one in each neighbourhood Create a Child Poverty Office and offer free “baby boxes” to new and expecting parents. Chapter 2: A Safer and Cleaner Southwark Under a Labour Mayor, Labour Council, and now Labour Government, crime in Southwark is out of control. Southwark has the fifth highest crime rate in all of London, while police services are being cut and staffing levels are set to plummet. Phone snatching has reached all-time highs, and antisocial behaviour plagues our parks and estates. Many of our streets and public spaces are blighted by litter and fly tipping. Liberal Democrats will make our streets, estates and parks clean and safe. We would: Double the number of directly employed community safety wardens from 30 to 60 across Southwark and invest in street lighting so that no-one feels unsafe walking home Provide the names and contact details of local community wardens to residents and hold regular public meetings alongside the police to report back and hear concerns Use more mobile CCTV units to help enforcement and gather information to help tackle crime, antisocial behaviour and fly tipping Open 5 new youth clubs across the borough Work with schools, community centres, and places of worship to open more of them after school so young people have somewhere safe and warm to socialise and study in the evenings Tackle fly-tipping by organising mega-skip days and abolishing the bulky waste collection charge Roll out a “request a bin” service, so residents who understand and care about their area can play their part in addressing litter hotspots Deliver more public toilets and reinvigorate the community toilet scheme to improve accessibility and reduce anti-social behaviour Guarantee that all council estates that ask for them will have working security doors by 2028. Spotlight on: Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Tackling violence against women and girls will remain a priority for a Liberal Democrat council. Building on existing work and partnerships with local organisations, we will do more to make our borough safer for women, including: Rolling out more streetlights and making quicker repairs Working with local police to tackle sex-based harassment in public. Support London and national campaigns to tackle VAWG by: Re-deploying officers away from back-office duties to effectively investigate rape and sexual assault cases, doubling the number of convictions Establishing a VAWG taskforce within the Metropolitan Police Embedding a VAWG and domestic abuse specialist in every 999-operator assistance centre. Chapter 3: Fixing Our Housing Crisis Southwark is at the centre of London’s housing crisis. Private rents are unaffordable for ordinary people and there are now over 21,000 people on the waiting list for social housing. Southwark’s Labour council, Labour London Mayor and the central Labour government have overseen a collapse in council housebuilding and are letting developers avoid even the most modest affordable housing targets. The Labour council made a start on only one council home in 2025! Meanwhile, the quality of existing council housing is unacceptably poor, with the Regulator of Social Housing giving Southwark the second lowest national rating. With Southwark’s major works scandals regularly dominating local headlines, it’s clear that housing in Southwark is broken. Liberal Democrats will reverse this decline by providing more and better homes for local people. Our diverse communities can’t thrive if they are priced out of the borough. We will also stand up for private and council leaseholders subject to rip-off service charges, major works bills, and fire safety certificate delays. To fix our housing crisis, we will: Make sure that half of all new homes on private developments are genuinely affordable Appoint a new ‘affordable housing tsar’ who can robustly challenge affordable housing plans from developers to maximise affordability Build for people not investors by making sure that homes for Southwark residents are built on the little land we have left, not endless office blocks, luxury hotels and student accommodation Build more council homes, reversing Labour’s years of failed delivery Support residents caught up in the building safety crisis, including preventing private developers and housing associations from obtaining council procurement projects when they have not taken action to support affected leaseholders Implement a 10 working day disrepair enforcement guarantee for private leaseholders Set up joint scrutiny boards, running parallel with community councils, to hold building managers, housing associations and the council to account Work with charity sector and housing associations to provide a new generation of alms houses for older people, to provide better support for residents in their later years and free up housing for the next generation Provide a dedicated portal for residents to be able to report empty properties, in order for the council to take appropriate enforcement action Support private tenants by: Extending across Southwark the selective licensing scheme, which provides regulations and standards for the private rented sector. Provide more staff and technical resources for the council’s enforcement team to enable more proactive inspections and protections for private renters Run awareness campaigns so that renters know their rights and landlords understand their obligations Support renters to claim rent repayment orders where landlords fall short of their duties. Spotlight on: Fixing Housing for Council Tenants and Leaseholders: Liberal Democrats will fix our broken housing department. We would: Launch an immediate and quick root-and-branch review, transforming the department into a service that puts people first. We would also roll out one-stop-shops in each neighbourhood, so that everyone can talk to a housing officer face to face. Open a 24-hour hotline for tenants and leaseholders to report repairs Act urgently to tackle disrepair and damp and mould on estates. We will introduce a dedicated complex repairs team to deal with spiralling disrepair, poor maintenance, and damp and mould in council housing Act immediately to end the backlog of fire-safety certificates issued to council leaseholders Support older and disabled people by guaranteeing that adaptation assessments to council homes will happen within 2 months of an application, and ensure that the right support and equipment is available Review district heating systems to ensure that they are fit for purpose, that bills are transparent and accurately reflect use and value for money Overhaul the homeownership department so that service charges are accurate, timely, transparent, and represent genuine value for money. Chapter 4: Going Greener Faster: Protecting the environment is part of the Liberal Democrat DNA. We will make Southwark the greenest borough in London. Labour talk the talk, but they have been forced to admit that they will fail to meet their climate targets. Liberal Democrats have a plan to go greener, faster. Our green spaces are precious assets that must be protected and enhanced - both for nature and the wellbeing and enjoyment of local people. We will: Open 8 new parks and green spaces across the borough, one in each neighbourhood Create greener, warmer, cheaper homes by recreating the London Mayor’s scrapped warmer homes retrofitting scheme for private owners and investing in the council’s own housing to bring bills down and reduce emissions. Generate green energy by installing solar panels across the council’s properties, cutting energy bills and our carbon footprint Plant 130,000 more trees over the next four years, and protect mature trees and hedgerows Prioritise our parks for people not profit, by limiting use for large commercial events during the summer months. Spotlight on: A recycling revolution Most of the top councils for recycling are Liberal Democrat run, including here in London. By contrast, Southwark is one of the worst London boroughs for recycling - with a recycling rate that has either gone down or stayed the same every single year. Liberal Democrats would ensure at least 60% of all waste is recycled. We will: Ensure that all new builds make recycling easier and older council estates are retrofitted to have modern recycling facilities Consider cash incentives for residents to recycle more Work with high street businesses and Business Improvement Districts to better manage commercial waste, remove clutter and integrate waste and recycling facilities into our streets. Chapter 5: Getting Southwark Moving Liberal Democrats believe in working with communities to deliver transport solutions that work for everyone, not imposing plans from above. We want to make it easier for people to get to where they want to go and make transport accessible for everyone. We will: Ensure that consultations about plans to make greener, cheaper journeys are developed with communities, through genuine consultation, not imposed on them Make every train station in the borough accessible for disabled people Invest in a tram for Southwark. We will put Southwark’s weight behind plans to connect the borough - as our Labour Mayor and government have failed to back the Bakerloo Line Extension Roll out 25km of new cycle lanes expand the Santander Cycle Hire Scheme further south into the borough Negotiate tougher deals with firms like Lime to make them take responsibility for illegally parked e-bikes Keep bicycles safe from theft by installing more cycle hangars and lockers and keep fees low. We would also increase the number of bike racks Replicate schemes seen in cities across the world where main roads are closed off once a year to support community cohesion, boost local businesses and promote active travel. Spotlight on: Charging up Southwark Our Labour council has failed to roll out enough EV chargers - to the point where it couldn’t even switch its own vehicle fleet to electric. We would make sure that installation of EV charging points keeps up with demand and guarantee an EV charging point within 200 metres of every home. Chapter 6: How to pay for fixing Southwark We know these are challenging times for public finances, but properly funding the services that communities deserve is not up for negotiation. As well as lobbying the Government for real fair funding for local councils, Liberal Democrats would: Use the millions of accrued funding from lucrative private development to deliver strategic upgrades to infrastructure and facilities across the borough such as youth clubs, parks and one-stop-shops Make sure that the hard-won Tourist Tax can be raised and spent in Southwark Make better use of the council’s commercial properties and opportunities Slash the millions Labour are spending on external consultants and town-hall indulgences such as ending taxpayer funded parties for council leaders, swanky events, and pointless reports Manage taxpayers’ money better by not spending millions on refurbishing buildings like Maydew House that are then knocked down Make savings and raise revenue as by-products of other policy and transformation projects – such as a new SEND school We would make sure that future local plans deliver on our commitments, so that when our borough grows, existing and new local communities are genuinely benefitting. Chapter 7: Our Local Priorities: Improve roads and pavements around Borough Market Tackle crime and anti-social behaviour at hotspots like around London Bridge Regenerate and reopen play spaces like on the Kirby Estate End traffic chaos on the Rotherhithe peninsula, particularly on Lower Road Fight for the 1,050 affordable homes at Canada Water promised Work with residents to design a sustainable traffic system that works for all on Kennington Triangle Make Elephant and Castle station fully accessible Fix lighting on estates, especially on Tabard and Lawson Estates Renew the Blue – restoring it as the thriving high street that Bermondsey residents remember and deserve Revive Walworth Road by filling empty shops Back the Bakerloo Line Extension to unlock tens of thousands of affordable homes Make Peckham Rye station fully accessible Make North Dulwich & West Dulwich stations fully accessible Renew our high streets by utilising existing powers to fill empty shops on Lordship Lane Our six to fix across the borough: One stop shops in every neighbourhood: These are just some examples of where we could open one stop shops: John Harvard Library; Blue Anchor Library; Canada Water Library; Peckham Library; Nunhead Library; Dulwich Library; Grove Vale Library; Camberwell Library; Walworth Library. Opening five new youth centres We could utilise unused council buildings, or work with partners to deliver new youth centres: In Dulwich; In Rotherhithe; In Peckham; new premises and a sustainable future for Bede House; former schools like Charlotte Sharman could also be used. Create eight new parks and green spaces Work with BOST and the Blackfriars Green Network around Boyfield St, and replicate similar schemes across the borough. Albion Channel could be renewed as a new green spaces. Unused public land could be repurposed as pocket parks, like on Ilderton Road and Burbage Road and other sites across Southwark.