He defends his position citing his job for his absence at a key vote on affordable housing

Fleur Anderson, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Putney has accused the Conservative candidate of hypocrisy regarding his position on affordable housing. She said: "It is highly hypocritical for Will Sweet to be running on a platform of affordable housing, considering he skipped a key vote that led to a decrease in the number of reasonably priced homes in the Battersea Power Station development.

“This is the sort of behaviour that Boris Johnson would be proud of, after he fled to Afghanistan to get out of breaking another promise on Heathrow expansion.

“Extortionate rents are a problem for so many Londoners. The people of Putney deserve to be represented by someone who they can trust to always be on their side. I will never be afraid to stand up against dodgy landlords and powerful developers.”

Will Sweet defending his position cites his job within the Foreign Office as the cause of his absence, saying: "As Labour know, I was on urgent Foreign Office business when the Power Station vote happened. It is a low blow to attack me for this. The reason 386 affordable homes are now under construction in Battersea Power Station is that the Council negotiated to get them delivered early. There will be a financial review to try to increase affordable levels to 33% and get 250 more affordable homes".

"When I was Wandsworth Planning Chairman, we had the 5th highest number of affordable homes in London and the highest number of homes overall. We’re delivering 1,000 new Council homes too.

"In contrast, the Palmhouse-Pergola development at Putney Exchange would not have been approved if Labour hadn’t voted for it. It was the Labour Mayor that forced through the Hollybrook development at Riverside Quarter. When I was Planning Chairman, the Labour Mayor delayed 1,033 affordable homes for our area that have still not been built."

Four candidates are contesting the Putney seat.
- Will Sweet (Conservative)
- Fleur Anderson (Labour)
- Sue Wixley (Liberal Democrats)
- Fergal McEntee (Green Party)

December 4, 2019