THE news that there will soon be a play, both on the West End stage and on Radio 4, charting the Shirley Porter 'Homes for Votes' scandal will again put Westminster Conservatives' most-notorious episode in the spotlight.

With award-winning actress Imelda Staunton tipped to play Dame Shirley, the West End is sure to see another long-running play pulling in the crowds from far and wide. The only people who will be unhappy about this are Westminster Conservatives, who do not like to be reminded that they were responsible for the biggest-ever scandal in local government history.

I was one of those who said it could never happen again. But, sadly, I may be proved wrong.

The same Westminster Conservatives have now hatched a new plan under the guise of regeneration' to knock down parts of housing estates in Church Street, Maida Vale, Westbourne and Pimlico, so that they can reduce the number of council tenants and build flats for incomers.

The Conservatives claim the 3,000 flats on these estates are 'council house ghettos'. They conveniently forget that more than 40 per cent of the Church Street and Pimlico flats have been sold off and are now private. These areas are now true mixed communities and there is no need to reduce the council housing stock any further. Indeed, there is a very strong argument for increasing the amount of council housing to deal with increased overcrowding!

But, of course, just like Shirley Porter, today's Conservatives have a political agenda to reduce the number of council tenants in Westminster because they do not think that they will vote Conservative.

Just like in the bad old days of Porter, the people who will lose out will be the poor, the overcrowded and those least able to fight their corner.

That is why Labour councillors will oppose the 2009 version of Shirley Porter's mean and nasty housing policies with just as much force and commitment as we fought the original plans more than 20 years ago.

And, just as we exposed and won back more than £12million from Porter for the people of Westminster, we will not allow today's Conservatives to get away with the evil that they plan for their council tenants.

COUNCILLOR PAUL

DIMOLDENBERG Leader of the Labour Group

Westminster City Council