Air of discontent as Tottenham voters cast their ballots
By Olivia Opara

The election count is taking place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday

Haringey Community Press visited polling stations around Tottenham on Thursday and found many voters expressing despondency at the state of local politics.

Those spoken to expressed recurring feelings of discontent, saying that crime, anti-social behaviour and sanitation were the main issues that need to be seriously addressed, but with few expectations for any real change to come as a result of today’s election.

Haringey is currently ranked as the third most dangerous borough in London. Tottenham resident Adalinda, voting at Calvary Church, said there needed to be more community police and handling of local crime as “there have been continuous break-ins to cars and vehicles” in the area.

When asked about the current council, Eddie, who has lived in Northumberland Park for 40 years, said “it’s crap” and added: “You only see them when they want something from us.” He said this was “why people don’t vote anymore”.

For Eddie, who was voting at the Neighbourhood Resource Centre in Park Lane, “anti-social behaviour is a serious problem,” as people are scared to go out in their local communities, while the police say that “it is nothing to do with us”.

He added: “It seems like the council and local government are just dumping people here in Northumberland Park and are not doing anything for us.”

Other voters at the Neighbourhood Resource Centre shared Eddie’s disappointment with the current council administration. Rosie said: “I have found it hard to get through to the council. It would be nice for them to be more visible.”

Rosie’s aspirations for Tottenham are “having a nicer environment to live in” with “more rubbish collections, a nice area to cycle around and for everyone to actually care about the place that we live in”.

Echoing low expectations, Ann said that she doesn’t like going to vote but “I vote because I have to – I’m a bit disillusioned”. Although the council have been quite responsive to her concerns and complaints, Ann doesn’t believe that there will be any change. She said: “I would like to see a greener Haringey, maintenance of spaces, and more help for local businesses against larger business chains.”

Michael, a voter at the Old Brewery polling station, echoed calls for a cleaner Tottenham. He said: “There’s a lot that needs to be addressed such as local welfare. The environment needs to be tidied – sanitation and hygiene has dropped.”

Michael’s wife, Harriet, mentioned how she would like to see “more recreation for young people to engage them through local activities”. She added that social housing should be more accessible. “People who pay council tax should be entitled to social housing too, not just people with children, for example.”

Beyond the polling stations, one Tottenham business, Bally Rehearsal Studios, posted a thread detailing their experiences with some candidates for the elections, in Haringey and beyond. They mention how they have “had more help from Lib Dem councillors from wards that [they] cannot vote for than from [their] own councillors who sent us emails about ‘serving the local community’”.

They added: “None of our councillors in Tottenham Hale helped us when we needed it, so we’re not going to vote for them this time.”

Votes in the Haringey Council election will be counted at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday from 10am, with a final result expected at around 4pm. A full report with all the results will be available later on the HCP website.

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