Elderly voters in Hackney have pleaded with political candidates to prevent them from being locked out as council services become more digitised. At an Age UK East London hustings held at the Marie Lloyd Centre in Hackney on Thursday, April 30, four of the five candidates vying to win the borough's looming mayoral election faced questions on how they would support older residents in office.
Key concerns raised by attendees revolved around the cost of living and the difficulty of navigating the borough’s streets, but also its online systems. One questioner, Monica, pressed the candidates on how they would support people who were “not digitally confident” to access the council’s essential services.
Candidates' Commitments
Labour’s incumbent Mayor Caroline Woodley, the Greens’ Councillor Zoe Garbett, the Conservatives’ Tareke Gregg, and Reform UK’s Vahid Almasi each committed to stepping up the council’s in-person engagement with the elderly. The Liberal Democrats’ Eva Steinhardt did not attend.
Mayor Woodley stood by the council’s efforts to “maintain a non-digital connection” between staff and residents, but said she wanted to extend this at a neighbourhood level while offering digital training to those finding it hard to use online systems.
Councillor Garbett said a Green-led council would strive to offer as much accessible face-to-face council service as possible, pointing to her party’s manifesto pledge to always have a human help tenants with council home-swapping. “We want human connection,” she said.
Mr Almasi promised to set up a dedicated team to support online access and help elderly people avoid scams. Admitting that he himself struggled with the council’s online systems, Mr Gregg promised to improve customer service between residents and staff for essential services such as council tax to avoid residents “chatting to an AI bot”.
Food Prices and Transport
Attendees shared their frustrations around the lack of affordable housing in the borough and the impact of gentrification, along with issues around transport. One questioner slammed “chaotic” bus diversions and uneven pavements in Hackney as others criticised the council’s use of low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), which the Reform and Conservative candidates have pledged to either review or scrap altogether.
Another audience member, Clara, asked candidates what they would do to help older residents cope with rising food prices. Labour’s Woodley emphasised her manifesto promise to bring in an affordable food network in every neighbourhood through lunch clubs, creating local pantries and community supermarkets, as an alternative to traditional food banks.
Councillor Garbett also praised lunch clubs but criticised the council’s decision to cut funding for these initiatives. She pledged to help residents set up food co-ops on estates and support Ridley Road traders to sell cheaper produce by keeping pitch fees down. Almasi, meanwhile, said he would focus on issuing food vouchers and negotiate with local supermarkets to get discounts for older residents. Gregg added that he would fund more lunch clubs for eating and socialising as he sought to put more money in people’s pockets by cutting council tax.
Voices from the Community
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) following the hustings, Carmen Drysdale said food security was a core issue for her and that she was pleased that “lifeline” lunch clubs were on candidates' agendas. The importance of the clubs to her outweighed her “hatred” for LTNs, she said, though she was doubtful that any party could get rid of them.
Ms Drysdale, 62, has lived in Hackney for nearly four decades and comes to the Marie Lloyd Centre three times a week to socialise and for gentle exercise classes. She had a nuanced view of gentrification, which she praised for improving local schools and making areas like London Fields safer and more vibrant, but argued that many locals felt priced out of the borough. “A lot of people who have been living here for generations, they don't feel like they can go and sit in a cafe in Broadway Market to spend £5 on a coffee. They feel like they don't belong. I think that's sad.”
Though still undecided after the hustings, she said her preference had “moved quite a long way” after attending and that she was leaning towards voting for a party she had never supported before.
Mary-Ann Foxwell, CEO of Age UK East London who chaired the hustings, said the audience was clear that the council “must prioritise ensuring older people are not digitally excluded”.
The local elections will take place on Thursday, May 7.
