The time has come for change. After 14 years of chaos, we now have a Labour Government striving to move our country forward and transform our society into a fairer place for all. In Haringey, this work is well under way.

Having been the leader of our great borough for the past three years, I am proud of the achievements that have been made.

We are a borough that listens to our residents, works with our residents and most importantly, wants to deliver for our residents.

Through the Haringey Deal, we are giving people the power to have their say and influence what we do to change their areas we can see evidence of this with the Wood Green Voices and Tottenham Voices.

We have also launched the Haringey Climate Partnership so anyone passionate about the environment can help shape a fairer and greener future for the borough.

Having been born and bred in Haringey, I know the issues that a number of our communities have to face on a daily basis, and we are doing everything in our power to address them.

Despite the perilous challenges and financial constraints that are affecting every local authority across the country, real progress has been made, but there is plenty more to do.

Peray Ahmet says that Haringey is a borough that listens to its residentsPeray Ahmet says that Haringey is a borough that listens to its residents (Image: Rachel Kiki)

The cost-of-living crisis continues to affect thousands of people in Haringey, but we have supported more than 26,000 families with council tax relief and ensure help is in place for 4,000 families through the Haringey Support Fund.

We made a pledge to build more council homes and we are well on track to achieve our target of building 3,000 new council homes by 2031. A total of 650 people will already have their keys to their new council home by autumn 2024.

Another strong pledge is to support our families and our children’s service was awarded a 'good' Ofsted rating. With 98% of our schools either 'good' or 'outstanding' and our school exclusions well below the average, we are giving our young people the best possible start in life.

We also want our young people to have clean air and are proud to have implemented 34 new school streets that are protecting 16,000 pupils.

With greener neighbourhoods, a thriving culture (including being named Borough of Culture for 2027) and safer communities also high on our agenda, rest assured these are not just empty promises.

While we look back at what we have achieved together, we know our job is not done and we don’t underestimate the challenge ahead of us.

But I know that by working with a Labour government and a Labour Mayor in City Hall, our shared mission of making our society and our borough the best it can be is more achievable than ever. The hard work continues.

  • Peray Ahmet is Labour leader of Haringey Council.