North London MPs David Lammy and Catherine West call for pause in £2bn plan, amid fears residents could be forced outTwo Labour MPs have made a dramatic last-minute intervention in a London council’s plans to privatise £2bn of council houses, public buildings and land. Under the scheme, public assets will be transferred into a new company, the Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV), owned 50/50 by Haringey council and private firm Lendlease, in a deal set to last 20 years. On Monday evening, the Labour-run council will vote on the largest sell-off of its kind ever undertaken by a UK local authority. But earlier in the day, two local north London MPs sent the council’s leader, Claire Kober, a strongly worded letter. Photograph: Lucy Young/Rex ShutterstockTheir intervention came as protesters planned to march peacefully on Haringey Civic Centre in Wood Green on Monday evening.

Source: The Guardian July 03, 2017 16:38 UTC