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Abstract

The horrific fire in the West London tower block has exposed a scandal that has been eating away at the fabric of Britain for years – ever since Mrs Thatcher and later governments started to run down the public sector and dangerously deregulate the historic rules governing municipal housing.

Why is it that a fire of this nature happened in a public block? Basic safety precautions, such as the installation of sprinklers and loud alarm systems, were apparently missing. This would never have happened if it were a private tower. Before deregulation, safety certificates for buildings could only be given by a local authority. Today, they can be granted by private companies approved by a local authority. A big difference.

In Islington, unlike Camden, council housing fell into the hands of tenants’ management boards, who are unaccountable, not subject to democratic control exercised through the electoral process.

We were assured by Labour councillors they would bring them in-house under the control of the Town Hall, where there is a body of expertise on planning issues and housing. Council officials are obviously not infallible but mistakes are less likely to occur. Is the council attempting to corral the tenants’ bodies – or is it dragging its feet? Tenants, of course, should be closely involved in running estates, but matters of fire safety and adherence to planning regulations should be left with trained experts.These regulations were pushed aside by governments from the 1990s onwards – partly to save money, partly as part of a move to run down the public sector. We are now paying the price.

Pathetically, Theresa May can only offer that age-old British solution to a social problem – a public inquiry.

This, of course, would takes months, if not years, to reach any conclusions. Mrs May wants to kick it into the long grass.

Tenants need iron-clad assurances that cladding at their blocks is fireproof – and not of the kind that enveloped Grenfell Tower.

It is to be welcomed that the council has taken the first step by putting all cladding projects on hold. In general, though, Islington – although in possession of powers, for example, to insist on the installation of sprinklers – needs to deal with this scandal now. Not tomorrow.