Roehampton hustings: the weakest candidate left the happiest

UPDATED Three Labour supporters shouted Nick Austin, the Conservative candidate, down from across the church. He was mid-sentence, citing planning policy. Jenny Yates, the Labour cabinet member sitting two metres away, smiled. The Bishop of Kingston kept going. This is what a hustings looks like in a safe Labour ward, three weeks before election day.

West Putney and Roehampton’s second local election hustings took place on Wednesday evening at Holy Trinity Church, Roehampton, with around 150 people in attendance. Three candidates appeared: Chris Poole for the Green Party, Nick Austin for the Conservatives, and Jenny Yates for Labour. The Liberal Democrats had candidates in the room but sent none to the stage, citing an administrative error. Reform UK sent no candidate and offered no explanation, despite fielding six candidates across the two wards.

The evening belonged almost entirely to Roehampton. Housing, the Alton estate, bus services, and the estate’s troubled regeneration dominated the questions. The sharpest questioning came not from the chair or any resident in the room, but from the Green candidate.

How we assess candidates: Every candidate at every Hustings is scored on six criteria. Read our methodology.

Transport: diagnosis without a prescription

Every candidate agreed the Putney Bridge junction redesign has damaged bus services across the area. All three pointed to Hammersmith Bridge as a contributing factor. None offered a concrete fix.

Yates described co-chairing a monthly TfL task force and said three routes had seen additional buses added. Austin arrived with specific route numbers and TfL meeting minutes. Poole noted that car volumes over Putney Bridge are falling since 2018. The congestion affecting buses cannot be explained by increased traffic alone.

No candidate committed to a timeline for improvement.

“There is no funding gap”

Three separate audience questions raised the Alton estate regeneration. Yates’s answer to each was consistent: the scheme was on track, funded, and proceeding to plan.

“There is no funding gap,” she said. “All the plans are in the council capital programme.”

We reported in November that costs had risen from approximately £123 million to £163 million in the six weeks after the resident ballot, a rise of £40 million. The GLA grant assumption had grown from £16 million to £77 million, none of which had been applied for.

Austin put the numbers to Yates directly. Poole added specific detail: the scheme was approved on a 41.5% turnout, meaning nearly 60% did not vote. He noted the replacement youth base will be 219 square metres smaller than the one it replaces.

Yates repeated that everything was in the capital programme. She did not address the £77 million gap.

Budget papers, mid-debate

During the housing repairs exchange, Austin read from Wandsworth’s February 2026 budget papers, verbatim, mid-debate. He was heckled. He kept going. The papers state that £212 million is assumed to be required for capital repairs to the council’s existing housing stock. Reserves have been used for regeneration rather than repairs.

“If you’re so passionate about housing repairs,” he asked Yates, “why did you spend all the money?”

Yates’s response: “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”

This is either evasion or genuine unfamiliarity with her own administration’s budget papers. Both readings are significant. The council holds a C3 landlord rating from the Regulator of Social Housing, issued in February 2025 for what the regulator described as “serious failings.”

The allegation Yates did not deny

The most significant exchange of the evening came when Poole raised a specific allegation about the council’s financial strategy.

“We’ve heard through a Labour councillor speaking to one of our party members that the actual plan is to deplete the reserves,” he said, “which could unlock Exceptional Financial Support. In Lambeth this has amounted to over £100 million. If it is the plan, why are you not telling residents about it?”

Exceptional Financial Support is a real mechanism. Councils that exhaust their reserves can apply for central government emergency funding, but it comes with conditions, including government oversight of spending decisions. Lambeth received over £100 million through the process.

Yates called it “gossip from the local council” and did not engage with the mechanism. She did not deny it.

The allegation is hearsay and cannot be reported as fact. But it was made in public, at a hustings, and the candidate who made it pressed when dismissed. It has not been substantively refuted.

A claim we already found false

We found this false in March. The total collected since the CIL levy began in 2012 is £263 million. Of that, 78% was collected before Labour took office in May 2022. Labour’s three years produced £58.8 million.

At Wednesday’s hustings, Yates repeated the claim verbatim: “We’ve collected in total £230 million from property developers.”

The council’s own response to a councillor’s questions in March confirmed none of the four savings figures Yates cited on Wednesday as delivered savings: £30 million on leisure, £14 million through service redesign, £11 million on recycling, and £3.7 million on homelessness prevention.

Where they stood

The comparison panel above shows each party’s position across five issues discussed on Wednesday: bus services, Alton estate regeneration, council housing repairs, Lennox estate green space, and council finances.

Who wasn’t there

The Liberal Democrats have candidates standing in both West Putney and Roehampton. Their candidates were present in the room. The chair read a statement explaining their absence from the stage as an administrative error. Reform UK is fielding six candidates across the two wards and sent no candidate. No explanation was provided.

What comes next

The final hustings in this series covers Southfields on Tuesday 21 April at 7.30pm at St Barnabas Church. A written questionnaire remains open and candidates in all three wards have been invited to answer five questions on the record. This is the second of three hustings reports. The first is here.

Residents in West Putney and Roehampton can contact their candidates directly. The full candidate list is on our election page. Polling day is 7 May 2026.

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UPDATE: Fri 17 April: A full list of questions asked at this hustings, as provided by the organisers at Holy Trinity Church, Roehampton, is below. Tap/click to see the list.

Buses — Tom Cove Burner
The 85 and 265 buses constantly terminate early coming to/from Putney, often kicking off disabled people, pregnant women, those with kids and commuters with no choice but to wait 15 mins for another bus that is doubly crowded. Will you hold TfL accountable and ensure that buses run to their full route? Can you also address the question of the Putney Bridge junction?

Hammersmith Bridge — Mark Westall
Hammersmith Bridge has been closed for seven years. Roehampton has no train and its buses have been cut. The council held a rally demanding action, then refused to contribute to repairs three days later. What specific commitment will you make to reopen it, and by when?

Roads — Iori Harries
After a long period of neglect, recent years have seen resurfacing of local streets such as Danebury Avenue and Bessborough Road. If you are elected will you continue investment in roads and pavements, or cut it?

Family Hub — Amtul Bhunnoo
The Family Hub has been a centre for many activities in Roehampton and is much appreciated. However, previous cuts have closed many activities and centres before, so what will each candidate do to further improve this space and make it a success?

The Scrubbery — Mac Brennan
This question is on behalf of the local charity The Scrubbery. We are currently located in the Oasis Academy Putney building. In light of the proposed closure our ability to remain operational is in jeopardy. We are asking if any of the candidates would be willing to support our proposal to stay in the building until there is a new tenant, providing supervision of the grounds and preventing vacancy, and if they had any plans for the building, what are they?

Access for All — Peter Bowyer
I’ve lived in Roehampton for almost 12 years and recognise it is a deprived area, including many children in receipt of free school meals, people on benefits including disability benefits, refugees, and care leavers. All these groups benefit from the council’s Access for All scheme, which gives discounts on a wide range of services, including bike rental and storage, leisure centres, allotment hire, and learning opportunities. Will the candidates commit to retaining the Access for All scheme?

Policing on the Ashburton Estate — Reema Kapoor
Violence in West Putney has risen 63% in a year. The Ashburton Estate is a police-designated drug supply hotspot. Ward officers said they weren’t aware of the surge because they can’t see a breakdown of their own figures. How will you fix that?

Council housing — Wilfred Lindalo
I live on the Alton Estate. Given the ongoing issues with damp, mould, and lift breakdowns in our high-rise blocks, what specific additional powers or funding will you seek from the council’s new housing repairs team that previous councillors have failed to deliver for Roehampton residents?

Alton regeneration — John Deery
Regarding the Alton Renewal Plan, I was pleased to see that over 82% of people voted in favour in the ballot, and given that this has been going on for years, will all parties here commit to implementing the plan?

Alton regeneration — Faisal Malhi
The Alton Renewal proposal went to a residents’ ballot, and over 82% of votes were “Yes”, despite some political parties campaigning against it. Any changes to the plan will further delay the new homes and other improvements that residents have been waiting decades for. Will the candidates commit to fully implementing the plan that the residents chose, without deferral?

Alton regeneration — Tony Arthur (read by the chair)
The planning committee recently approved Block A despite unresolved warnings over a resident right-to-light claim and a £28 million funding deficit. If a private developer came to you with a project that was £28 million short and a legal threat, would you still approve it?

Lennox development — Zoe Lynam
Given that Oasis Academy Putney is due to close and the former Paddock School site may also be available, why is the council proposing to build on protected green space on the Lennox Estate instead of prioritising these brownfield sites, in line with the National Planning Policy Framework? And what is your stance on this?

Lennox development — Hugo Cerda (submitted in writing)
Will you oppose any further development affecting Lennox Estate homes until residents are no longer being left behind on full fibre and the council has fixed the failing infrastructure, safety, cleaning and maintenance issues, especially around Burke Close and the lower estate?

Lennox development — Alyssa Snow
The council wants to build on the Lennox Estate green, which is designated protected open space. 287 residents objected and not a single person wrote in support. Will you commit, if elected, to opposing any construction on the green?

Council tax — Reema Kapoor
Council tax for Wandsworth is one of the lowest in the country due to subsidies that are due to end soon. What’s your strategy to address the impending increase that will hit residents? Will you choose to kick the can down the road for it to be someone else’s problem?

Leaseholder issues — Christine Wolski
In advance of the proposed Leasehold Reform Act, will the new council make leaseholders’ service charges more transparent — including an itemised breakdown of costs, particularly repair costs? This will be a requirement of the new act.

Leaseholder issues — Anne Kearns
There are more than 8,000 resident leaseholders in Wandsworth, many of them retired. On the Alton Estate, service charges have nearly doubled since 2022. Door replacements at Kimpton House were budgeted at £59,000 and came in at £260,000. Banks won’t lend on Alton properties. What are you going to do for the people who bought their homes in good faith and are now being priced out of them?

Community cohesion — Amtul Bhunnoo
With the increase in parliamentary participants making racist, Islamophobic and abusive remarks, the trickle-down effect at the local level will be seen by electing candidates from such parties. What does each candidate have to say on how they will foster diverse community cohesion in these times?