The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that Tom Copley has been appointed as his new Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development. He will succeed James Murray, who recently left the post to stand successfully as a Member of Parliament.
Tom has served on the London Assembly since 2012 and is chair of the London Assembly Housing Committee.
As both a councillor in Lewisham and a London Assembly Member, Tom has built a formidable reputation campaigning for all Londoners to have access to safe, affordable and secure housing across the capital. He has been a champion of increasing the rights of tenants in the private rented sector and has led the Assembly’s work around increasing the building of council homes and advocating for resident ballots on estate regeneration schemes.
Prior to serving on the Assembly, Tom worked for Hope Not Hate – an anti-fascist charity that works with communities to fight racism and hatred. He is also a campaigner for the rights of LGBTQ+ Londoners.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m looking forward to Tom joining our team in the vital role of Deputy Mayor for Housing. As chair of the Assembly Housing committee Tom has become a leading voice in housing policy across the UK, and has rightly earned his reputation as a relentless campaigner for the rights of council tenants and those renting in the private rented sector.
“We’ve begun making progress fixing the housing crisis in London, including starting the highest number of new council homes in the capital in 34 years. But I know that Tom shares my ambition to go even further, working with all levels of Government to solve the housing crisis in London once and for all.
Tom Copley said: “I’m delighted to have been asked by Sadiq Khan to take up the role of Deputy Mayor for Housing. Since the Mayor was elected in 2016, City Hall has taken a much more ambitious approach to tackling the housing crisis, including directly funding council housing for the first time. I look forward to building on that work in order to deliver the genuinely affordable homes that Londoners need.
“The housing and homelessness crisis is one of the biggest challenges facing our city. Our goal should be a city where everyone has access to a decent home that they can afford. I will work together with London’s councils, housing associations, homelessness charities and housing campaigners towards achieving that goal.”
Tom’s start date will be announced shortly, but will follow him stepping down as a Lewisham Borough councillor and London Assembly Member.
Tom has published a number of reports into various aspects of housing in London. These include “Right to Buy: Wrong for London” which revealed the scale of the shift of former council homes sold under Right to Buy into the private rented sector, and “Slums of the Future” which investigated the poor quality housing created through the government’s office to residential permitted development rights.
Recent figures show a record-breaking number of affordable homes were started with City Hall’s support last year – including the highest number of new council homes in London in 34 years.
