Afraid so – the Southwark Labour Leader has, this week, been welcoming the appalling Policy Exchange proposals to segregate social housing into ‘poorer’ areas. He’s proud that, in Southwark, Labour already have decided to give up on social housing in the north of the borough.

Policy Exchange’s report, entitled ‘Ending Expensive Social Tenancies’ suggests that councils and housing associations should sell off their social housing stock in higher value areas and replace them with larger numbers of properties in areas where land prices are cheaper. Might sound good on paper but what does it really mean for communities who have lived in areas for generations? What does it mean for the very principle of a community?

As I have lamented many times before, our local Labour run council has already said goodbye to the principle of mixed communities in Southwark. They have allowed developers in some parts of the borough to get away with no on-site affordable housing and they are selling off council homes worth over £300k. They say they are building new homes but have sold off far more than they have built. And they are proud of the fact that they are concentrating social housing in cheaper parts of the borough. Local Lib Dems believe in mixed communities and that all parts of our borough need a mix of people in order to thrive.

The ethos and importance of mixed communities cannot be overstated. Diversification of housing type and tenure within a community – not between communities – has been shown to lead to huge benefits stemming from social cohesion and through using shared space and communities resources.

Indeed, a Government report published in 2010 evaluating the importance of mixed communities states:

“There are a number of reasons why mixed communities might be attractive: to promote a more egalitarian or socially cohesive society; to encourage racial or religious integration; and to create more ‘workable’ or ‘sustainable’ communities.”

We will all be poorer if we segregate communities and get rid of social housing in certain parts of London. Does the Labour Leader think that only wealthy people like him have the right to live in the north of our borough? That’s certainly what his short sighted local policies and the proposals of Policy Echange will mean.