Boris Johnson At Woodberry Down

So here are Boris Johnson (he's the blond one) Cllr Simche Steinberger (Con, New River Ward) and Cllr Maureen Middleton (ditto) at that little gathering on Monday. The meeting, at the Wyersdale House block on the Woodberry Down Estate, was organised, I believe, by Hackney Tory stalwart Eric Ollerenshaw as part of Johnson's tour of all 32 London boroughs prior to his expected adoption tomorrow as Conservative candidate for the London Mayoralty. It was an instructive occasion for all concerned.

Boris arrived a little late having mistakenly turned right out of Manor House tube station, an error some may consider only too symbolic. Happily for him a Mr Locker came to his aid and soon he was ensconced in Wyersdale's dim meeting room before an audience of a full half-dozen Tory voters from the estate. The ensuing 20 minutes will have shattered any remaining illusions the MP for Henley had about the mind-bending complexities of urban regeneration and the vivid passions they excite.

He listened carefully as activist resident Vi Carpenter regaled him with a list of grievances about the treatment of leaseholders on the estate, who she believes are being discriminated against and ignored. By the time Vi had made her case it was plain to all that Boris had no idea what she was talking about. This wasn't his fault. It wasn't Vi's, either. The one thing that was clear was that no one had told Boris anything at all about the long-pending £1 billion transformation of Woodberry Down under the auspices of Hackney Homes, let alone its particular implications for those former tenants who now own their homes there.

Now, I'm not a Boris fan. But fair play to the lad: where other politicians would have cleared their throats, murmured generic regret and directed Vi to some gofer, he stuck with it. Despite my having disclosed that I write for the Guardian - well, it would have been sneaky not to - he asked all the unavoidable dimwit questions until an outline of the bigger picture formed. By the time we escaped into the sunshine for a walkabout, he'd formulated a three-point plan: one, "expedite the regeneration"; two, make sure leaseholders are treated fairly; three, ensure that the London Mayor can intervene in these things if they aren't being done properly.

Full marks, then, for fast footwork. But, oh Boris, when it comes to political pitfalls Hackney offers a Tory contender so much more. He'd already spotted one. Playing the localism card, he's pledged to give the boroughs more freedom. But what about when natural Conservative voters complain that the freedom that comes with being a one-party council has meant Labour Hackney walking all over them? Difficult balancing act, that one. Then there were those little strains in the Tory family, detectable in even this tiny branch of it. A sub-plot of the Woodberry Down saga is that a new academy is now to be built there under revised plans. This has narked some residents and also Cllr Middleton who, prior to Boris's arrival, made clear that no academy anywhere is a substitute for a grammar school. Are you listening Dave?

Then, at one point in the meeting Cllr Steinberger, joining in with a general lambasting of the council, complained that it wouldn't even meet the special housing needs of the Jewish community. Someone else wasn't too impressed by that: "Aren't we all supposed to be integrating?" Here were the familiar tensions between those conflicting Tory desires for both individual freedom and cultural conformism, for tradition and thrusting modernity, rising briefly but ominously to the surface. There's plenty more where those came from, Boris old man. Perhaps he should join the Labour Party.

Comments

[Ben]

Boris didn't turn right out of Manor House station, he went left and doubled back on himself. Luckily I persuaded him to make a U-turn.

Anyway, Dave, thanks for the article. The two councillors represent my ward and it's good to get some insight into what they're like. I've not met either of them, though I have seen Cllr Harvey Odze in action before.