Popham - TMOs are 'Hands On', ALMOs are 'Arms Length' (Bristol East Liberal Democrats)

Bristol East Liberal Democrats <info@bristoleastlibdems.org.uk>

Popham - TMOs are 'Hands On', ALMOs are 'Arms Length'

February 8, 2009 9:43 PM

Sir,

1. TMO's are being set up in parts of Bristol BY tenants FOR tenants - they are not therefore a 'Slap in the Face of the Democratic Views of Bristol Council Tenants'. TMOs are in fact a warm handshake between the Owners of the housing stock (the City Council) and the Managers of the housing stock (the tenants).

2. The position of 2500 Bristol Council Tenants in 2005 who voted 3 out of 4 to retain the housing stock under Council ownership management is not changed:

a TMO is a tenant-led management organisation not an ALMO (an ALMO is arms length, a TMO is hands-on)
a TMO is not a PFI
a TMO is not an RSL or Housing association

3. The Lib Dems are not promoting TMOs; the Lib Dems are supporting tenants' self-determination which is the absolutely democratic change this City - and Country - needs to avoid course political failures like those seen over the past 30 years.

4. A TMO is not an ALMO that is 'arms length'. A TMO has a Tenant Board elected by the tenants, which may include politicians if the tenants want them.

5. TMO's would not cause the housing stock of Bristol to be broken up; they would all still be owned by the City Council.

6. A TMO is not privatisation because tenants take over the management of the stock not its ownership that stays in the hands of the City Council.

7. The Lib Dems abhor the City Council's changes in housing management since 2007 under Labour, of course enabled by the Conservative Party. There are now no democratically elected tenants within the Bristol City Housing structure. The Lib Dems were the only Party to protest against this. The Conservative Party fully supported Labour's undemocratic housing management changes to remove elected tenants from the Area Housing Committees.

8. Tenants inspired the emergence of TMOs in the City. The Lib Dems listened to this and, because of our inherent highly democratic values (wanting tenants hands-on, not arms length), decided to support tenants who wanted them AND tenants who did not want them. Currently, there are only 5 TMOs involved in the process of change. The Lib Dems understand and respect tenant's views that are contrary to the existence of TMOs where they live.

9. The Lib Dems are against tenants being excluded from the Governance of Housing.

10. The Lib Dems are FOR tenants being included by Law in the City Council's governance of ITs housing stock FOR those tenants who want this.

11. The Lib Dems are against tenant's decisions being driven by the current Labour administration via its unelected Housing Management Board and 'unelected chat rooms'.

Cllr Michael Popham

Liberal Democratic Party

Shadow Executive Member, Housing, Regeneration and Capital Projects

Bristol City Council

Prospective Member of Parliament, Bristol East