The yimby council leader in London who still lives with his mum

It is immediately clear that Mr Okereke is not your typical council leader. He is dressed casually, foregoing a suit and tie in the 25°C weather. He speaks fast and energetically, and references TikTok and dating apps. At 35, he has already been leader for three years, and a councillor since 2018. Back then, he was forging a career in the built environment, imagining a future as a housing association development manager and studying for a master’s degree in planning – an endeavour put on hold when he became leader.

Financial pressures

Perhaps most surprisingly, Mr Okereke lives with his parents, in the house they’ve owned since his childhood. “I’m a younger leader in London who suffers from the housing crisis, who still lives at home with his parents, because I can’t afford to buy in the borough that I lead. People find that quite surprising, but that is the condition of many people: doctors, nurses, key workers, all types,” he says.

Mr Okereke says he has a good dynamic with his parents, who are retired, although he clashes with his mum over staying out late at weekends. “I’m not going to be able to leave until I find a partner and have a joint income, but Mum, how do you expect me to meet a partner if I’m at home? The worst thing is having to pretend I’m going out with friends when I’m really going on a Hinge date,” he jokes.

This makes it easy to relate to the residents of his ward, “where basically every single case that comes into my surgery is about housing”.

Politics is shifting, he says, with more people who have directly experienced the housing crisis reaching positions of power. “A lot of councils who are nimby, the leadership there probably isn’t at the coalface of the housing crisis. The demographic shift in politics is really important to achieve effective representation.”

Ultimately, he feels the housing crisis can’t be solved without more homes. And as we walk through the borough, we see new developments are springing up along the river and construction sites are everywhere you look.

He finds it “very difficult” to watch homeowners oppose new developments, when he knows how many people are suffering. “I’ll be honest: I will be ruthless in getting housing delivered.”

Crucially, it is about listening to those concerns and using them to consider how to mitigate the impact on the local community, he says. “I say to them, ‘I know you have issues with development, and I’m just here to tell you: we are going to build houses here. But, more importantly, we’re going to do it with you.’”

Quality versus quantity

Mr Okereke says his focus is on exemplary developments and bringing infrastructure as well as homes to the community. “If we’re going to get the objectors, we have to show them good development.
I want them to be beautiful, affordable and sustainable. We want high-quality development, so that people can have confidence in building.”

This approach was tested in 2023, with his handling of Phase II of the Mast Quay development. The national press was outraged that Greenwich ordered the demolition of newly built 204-home ‘mutant’ tower blocks because of 26 major deviations from the original planning consent.

“Our willingness to build our way out of the crisis shouldn’t push us to accept unlawful homes,” Mr Okereke wrote in Inside Housing in defence.

Since then, it has been agreed that the block can stay, subject to improvements, a children’s playground being created and a fine of £7.8m paid to the council, more than half of which will fund affordable housing in the borough.

Talking about it now, Mr Okereke stands squarely behind the decision. “In the Good Morning Britain [television] interview, they asked me, ‘How can you justify this?’ But that’s not for me to answer, it’s for the developer to answer. How can they justify building in the way that they did? I have a position as leader to uphold and ensure that development is high quality, sustainable and good for local people, from private all the way down to social.”