Corbyn hits back at Rayner's war on allotments

Telegraph

5 hours ago

Jeremy Corbyn has accused Angela Rayner of hammering a 'nail in the coffin' of community allotments after she said councils could sell them off to raise money.
The former Labour leader criticised his former colleague after The Telegraph revealed she had agreed for eight allotments across England to be sold since last year's general election.
Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Corbyn said the decision would 'fill many with deep dismay' and accused Ms Rayner of making 'the future of these precious spaces even more perilous'.
Praising the Diggers, English Civil War dissidents who sought common ownership of land, he said: 'Is this government going to put the nail in the coffin of the joy of digging ground for potatoes on a cold, wet February Sunday afternoon?'
Mr Corbyn, who has recently turned his back on Labour to launch a new party, is a keen horticulturist and uses an allotment near his north London home.
He has said his favourite crop was marrows, and that time spent growing produce helped alleviate the stress of working in Westminster.
Ms Rayner has changed the rules on local government assets to give cash-strapped councils more 'flexibility' to sell off land, including allotments and school playing fields.
Some of the land, including a community allotment in Storrington, West Sussex, has been sold to developers to build new homes.
Mr Corbyn said Labour should have more regard for the 'troubled history of land ownership, and the struggle over access by those who simply want to grow their own crops'.
He wrote: 'Of course, social housing is desperately needed, but we need not sacrifice these vital green spaces to build it,' he wrote.
'We can build on ex-industrial land and take over empty properties. Even then, we should ensure social housing is accompanied by community gardens and adequate growing space.'
Under a century-old law, the Housing Secretary is required to give permission for any to be sold off by local authorities.
The list of eight allotments she has agreed to be sold were revealed in Parliament last month, and include sites in Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire.
Mr Corbyn has said he does not use any weedkiller on his allotment, which can make the process of weeding it laborious, but believes that each gardener has their own 'philosophy'.
'I like a marrow,' he told his local newspaper earlier this year. 'You get a long marrow which is basically a courgette and cut it long ways; take out the seeds to plant again for next year, then fill it with chopped vegetables, onions, make some indentations in it and smother that in olive oil and bake it very slowly.'
His intervention on allotment policy is one of the first criticisms of the Labour Government since he launched his new political outfit, which will be called 'Your Party' until supporters have voted on a name.
The party supports nationalisation of public utilities and infrastructure, and will have the support of trade unions, he said. It is also opposed to the Israeli government's assault on Gaza, but other policy decisions will be taken after a vote of members later this year.
Ms Rayner previously served in Mr Corbyn's top team as shadow education secretary, before winning the deputy leadership of the party in the year Sir Keir Starmer became the party leader.
Her department said that councils should only sell off allotments 'where it is clearly necessary and offers value for money'.
A spokesman added: 'We know how important allotments are for communities, and that is why strict criteria is in place to protect them, as well as school playing fields.'
But the Conservatives said the policy was 'a kick in the teeth to local people who don't have access to their own gardens' and called for the Government to do more to protect green spaces.
The loss of allotments makes us all poorer
By Jeremy Corbyn
News that Angela Rayner may approve allotment sales will fill many with deep dismay.
Allotments have always been under threat from developers. Now, that threat seems to have government backing, which makes the future of these precious spaces even more perilous.
Those advising government and local authorities should have some regard for the troubled history of land ownership, and the struggle over access by those who simply want to grow their own crops.
The debate goes back to the English Civil War, when the King wanted to secure control of the land he had gained, while Cromwell claimed to speak for the farmers. In truth, it was the Diggers who were the real revolutionaries. They wanted land to be in common ownership.
Despite the restoration of the monarchy, huge areas of land were known as the Commons and survived for almost another two centuries. That is, until the greed of big landowners won out once again.
The Enclosure Acts, one of the most grotesque abuses of power by Parliament, took away the growing and grazing rights of the rural poor. A monstrous attack on working-class life, the enclosures represented the widespread theft of public land, sanctioned by a parliament that was dominated by landowners.
The rural poor, left with nothing and facing starvation, were forced to migrate to industrial cities. It was in these rapidly growing industrial cities – notably in Birmingham – that allotments started to grow. Allotments, then, grew out of opposition to enclosures and the privatisation of common land.
Allotments were regulated in the late 19th and 20th century and, even though numbers have since fallen, there are about 330,000 allotment plots. At least 100,000 people are on waiting lists.
'Once lost, they never return'
Allotments have been crucial in times of national stress. Many came out of the Second World War. Indeed, many that were established in the First World War, such as the one I enjoy in north London, have survived to this day.
Once lost, they never return. Their loss makes us all poorer, as we become more and more detached from how food is grown and how nature interacts with us.
Allotments provide a vital space for community cohesion, biodiversity and social solidarity. These parcels of land, that cannot be individually fenced, provide growing space for many people.
Many people have no access to their own garden, and an allotment gives them the opportunity to grow vegetables and fruit and observe nature.
Allotments are particularly important for people who experience stress and mental health problems. I speak to many people who would love access to them for this very reason.
Property developers have always had their eyes on these parcels of land. Together with local authorities, they construct various arguments for building over them. Instead of contemplating sales of these wonderful spaces, the Government should be encouraging the growth of allotments, or where there is insufficient land, the growth of community and school gardens.
In my own borough of Islington, community gardens have played a vital role in bringing the community together and encouraging sustainable food production.
Of course, social housing is desperately needed, but we need not sacrifice these vital green spaces to build it. We can build on ex-industrial land and take over empty properties. Even then, we should ensure social housing is accompanied by community gardens and adequate growing space.
Is this Government going to put the nail in the coffin of the joy of digging ground for potatoes on a cold, wet February Sunday afternoon? The battle for the grass roots is on!