John Aird Court - homes for votes

Image: © Anthony O'Neil Taken: 23 Dec 2019

In the period 1986/1990, Westminster Council had a very narrow Conservative majority and identified Maida Vale as one of eight boroughs where the balance of existing residents were likely to vote Labour in the 1990 local elections. Under a notorious, secret policy entitled 'Building Stable Communities' the then leader of the Council - Dame Shirley Porter - began to encourage and move local tenants, perceived to be Labour supporters, to the outskirts of London. Desirable inner London Council properties - like John Aird Court - were then let to Conservative supporters. After this blatant gerrymandering was detected by other Councils, the District Auditor conducted a detailed investigation and found that Dame Shirley had acted illegally. It was originally estimated that she was personally liable for around £42M in restitution but she had subsequently moved abroad and rearranged her finances within the family: a multi million pound inheritance from the TESCO empire. Following burgeoning legal costs, the Government decided finally to settle for £12M. To add to the injustice, when Mrs Thatcher's 'Right to buy' policy was implemented, Council tenants renting these desirable apartments found themselves in possession of a potential goldmine, with millionaires living across the street.

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