Nimbys can’t stand in the way of Labour’s legacy: a 21st-century new town boom | Polly Toynbee
Which do Enfield’s Tories and Greens value more – a golf course or thousands of new homes? It’s a question of political values New towns will again be a lasting Labour legacy, just as in the eras of Clement Attlee and Harold Wilson. Those monuments to optimism, created in the mid-20th century by pulling down slums and building better, will be joined by seven more in an attempt to ease the housing…
Enfield's Tories and Greens are more concerned about a golf course than the creation of thousands of new homes. This question of political values highlights the enduring nature of Labour's new town legacy, similar to the optimism of the mid-20th century under Clement Attlee and Harold Wilson. Seven more new towns are planned to help alleviate the housing crisis.
Enfield served as a prime example, with its proposed 21,000-home new town backed by its previous Labour council facing a struggling administration responsible for 3,000 families in substandard temporary housing, with a waiting list of 7,000. However, in the May elections, a minority Conservative group, supported by the Greens (ironically), announced their withdrawal from the new town initiative. Both parties had campaigned against the new town concept during the elections.
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