A North London councillor has stepped down after five years in the role, partly because he says gentrification has forced him to move out of the borough as he can no longer afford to live there. Anton Georgiou, Leader of the Liberal Democrats at Brent Council, described his time as councillor as ‘the honour of [his] life’, whilst also firing some parting shots at the Labour administration which he claims is ‘having a detrimental impact’ on the lives of residents.
Mr Georgiou, 30, was one of three representatives for the ward of Alperton in Brent, a position which he had held since January 2020. Popular locally, the former councillor said the decision to stand down was made ‘with a heavy heart’ but was necessary due to personal reasons – in part because of the ‘very traumatic experience’ where he was the victim of stalking.
Mr Georgiou announced his decision to resign via a letter submitted to the local blog Wembley Matters, which prompted a number of responses from residents that demonstrates his popularity in Alperton and the wider borough. The majority of replies described sorrow at hearing he is leaving the role, describing him as ‘passionate and fearless’.
Following the announcement, residents have praised Anton Georgiou for being ‘passionate and fearless’ during his time in the role
(Image: John Russell)
In his resignation letter, Mr Georgiou said: “It has been quite a ride, with many highs and some lows, but I look back at this time with one overriding feeling – gratitude, for having been given the opportunity to do the role.”
He added: “I want to thank residents in Alperton. I have always given my all to the role of councillor. It is a privilege to be elected and to represent local people. I have loved being able to help people, and am proud of the work I have done to support some of the most vulnerable in the area. I have always tried my best and always given 100 per cent.”
Mr Georgiou’s family first moved to Kilburn from Cyprus in the 1950s but he now feels that the gentrification of the area has left many people, including himself, ‘priced out’ of housing and forced to move out of the borough. He said: “This is tragic and wrong. It is why we need elected councillors in Brent who are willing to speak out, challenge and stand up for residents.”
He criticised the current leadership at Brent Council for ‘failing local people’ by, in his words, not delivering the type of housing the borough needs and decried a lack of ‘genuinely affordable’ homes being built. He specifically pointed to the New Council Homes Programme – which aims to build 1,700 council homes by 2028 – as an example of not enough quality and genuinely affordable homes being delivered.
Mr Georgiou criticised the council’s New Council Homes Programme for not delivering enough genuinely affordable housing
(Image: Brent Council)
He said: “Brent, like every other local authority in London and across the UK, is having to deal with record numbers of families on housing waiting lists and hundreds presenting at the Civic Centre every month as homeless or at risk of homelessness.”
He added: “Brent Council is far too weak in their dealings with developers. Both in terms of demanding a larger number of genuinely affordable units, this does not include shared ownership which is not and should not be deemed as affordable, and also when holding them to account for poor quality build in new developments.”
In response, a spokesperson for Brent Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The legacy of national policies, such as Right to Buy, mean that most councils don’t have enough council properties for everyone who needs one. Despite this, over the past decade, Brent has been leading the way in building new homes. In fact, over the past two years we have built more than 2,500 new affordable homes, including many for social rent, which is the best of any council in London.”
They added: “Unfortunately, spiralling levels of homelessness across the country means that our increasing supply of new homes cannot cope with the rapidly accelerating demand. Following decades of inaction on this issue at a national level, we welcome the Government’s renewed commitment to tackle the housing crisis. Brent Council will be proud to play its part in helping the Government to achieve its target of 1.5million new homes across this parliament.”
As well as housing, Mr Georgiou was scathing about what he described as the administrations ‘failure to deal with the bread and butter issues’, which he claims can be addressed despite the bleak financial situation many councils are facing. He said: “Our streets are dirtier than ever, […] roads are riddled with potholes, and pavements are broken and dangerous.”
A Brent Council spokesperson said in response: “Local authorities across London face a £600million shortfall in funding this year alone, and most are grappling with some very hard choices and some councils are effectively bankrupt. Since 2010, we have less money to serve more people, who need more services, which have become more expensive to provide.”
They added: “Despite the huge financial pressures, we have continued to fill thousands of potholes each year, plant new trees, and launched our Don’t Mess With Brent campaign which is a zero-tolerance crack down on selfish fly-tippers, with more enforcement officers out on the streets and bigger fines.”
Anton Georgiou had a number of high profile spats with the Council Leader, Cllr Muhammed Butt (pictured)
(Image: Brent Council)
Mr Georgiou was also critical of what he claims is a lack of transparency and power sharing with regards to decision-making from the council leadership and he has had a number of spats with the leader, Cllr Muhammed Butt, over his time in the role. He told the LDRS that it has become ‘virtually impossible’ to effectively scrutinise decisions.
A Brent Council spokesperson said: “Local councillors play an incredibly important role in our society, and we need people who understand and care deeply about their communities to do this tough job. We understand that Cllr Georgiou is leaving the council to take up a new position, and we wish him well in his role and thank him for his service.”
Regarding Mr Georgiou’s experience as a victim of stalking during his time in the role, the spokesperson added: “In Brent, we have a wide-ranging and formally accredited support package for elected members – but there is more to be done nationally to help ensure councillors can carry out their role safely given the rise in violence against elected representatives.”
A by-election will now take place to determine a new representative for Alperton, although a date for this to take place is yet to be confirmed by Brent Council.
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