Green Party leader Zack Polanski has launched a blistering attack on the Labour government, accusing it of fostering “cosy” relationships with property developers at the expense of building desperately needed affordable housing for Londoners.
As the battle for the capital’s council chambers intensifies ahead of the all-out local elections on 7 May, Polanski claimed Labour was more interested in “pleasing property developers” than helping people onto the housing ladder or reforming the “feudal” leasehold system. He pointed to a private dinner hosted by Housing Secretary Steve Reed in October 2025, where developers paid £2,000 per person to attend, as evidence of a “cash-for-access” culture.
The Green Party’s catalogue of complaints
Polanski’s critique forms the core of the Greens’ election offensive. He argues that Labour’s ties have resulted in a proliferation of “luxury” flats with sky-high service charges for leaseholders, displacing social and affordable housing. “Labour is failing and is not on track to deliver the social and affordable housing it pledged,” he stated.
The Green leader specifically accused Labour of a U-turn on its flagship promise to scrap the leasehold system, suggesting the government had backed down under pressure from development interests, thereby leaving millions burdened by service charges. Labour has indeed published a draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill and passed the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, aimed at strengthening leaseholders’ rights, but the Greens argue the promised fundamental overhaul has stalled.
The party’s own housing policy stands in stark contrast. It has approved a radical stance to “seek the effective abolition of private landlordism,” arguing landlords add no positive economic value. Its manifesto champions a “Right Homes, Right Place, Right Price Charter” to boost council housing, aiming for 150,000 social rent homes a year nationally, alongside national rent controls. This vision, however, has drawn criticism; a local Green leaflet in Tufnell Park reportedly argued that more private housing supply would negatively impact existing property values, a view at odds with conventional economic thinking on affordability.
Labour’s robust defence and counter-attack
Housing Secretary Steve Reed hit back with force, labelling Polanski’s accusations “incredibly hypocritical”. He pointed to a £39 billion government fund designated for social and affordable housing, calling it the “biggest increase in a generation”.
Reed’s most pointed counter-accusation was that Green Party councillors across Britain had blocked the construction of 42,000 new homes, including 13,000 designated as social and affordable housing. Polanski dismissed the 42,000 figure as “nonsense”. Reed, who has been associated with a “Build, Baby, Build!” slogan, has privately conceded that the national pledge to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the parliament is unlikely to be met.
On the controversial £2,000-a-head dinner, organized by the pro-development group Labour Yimby, Reed’s attendance has fuelled claims that developers are buying influence, potentially to see the government overrule local councils on planning. The Housing Secretary has previously faced scrutiny for accepting hospitality from the water industry.
Labour’s record includes the Renters’ Rights Act, which will end section 21 “no-fault” evictions from May 2026. Yet, the political clash unfolds against a bleak housing data backdrop for London: new home starts slumped by 30% in the year to September 2025, with completions down 15%. As of early 2026, nearly 4,000 completed homes sat unsold in the capital, with thousands more expected.
A capital braced for a political earthquake
The fierce housing debate sets the stage for what could be a dramatic redrawing of London’s political map. Labour currently controls 21 of London’s 32 boroughs but is under severe pressure from both the Greens on the left and Reform UK on the right.
A recent MRP poll by the data firm Bombe, which uses a model that correctly predicted the Green victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election in February 2026, forecasts a potential wipeout for Labour in the capital. It suggests the Greens could seize control of nine councils: Hackney, Lambeth, Lewisham, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Greenwich, Brent, Hounslow, and Waltham Forest.
LSE Professor Tony Travers warns Labour faces a “political earthquake” in London, potentially losing over 600 council seats, having taken the capital for granted and left a “huge flank exposed on their left”. Buoyed by their best-ever national results in 2023, where they gained over 241 councillors and took majority control of Mid Suffolk council, the Greens are confident. Polanski predicted “record-breaking” results again, aiming to surpass that 2023 tally despite fewer seats being in play this time.
With the construction sector faltering, rents in London averaging £2,716 a month, and an average of only 1,148 social rent homes being built in the capital annually between 2020 and 2023, the housing crisis provides fertile ground for this political insurgency as Londoners prepare to vote.
