The new leader of Greenwich Council has revealed he will focus on building double the amount of council houses than previously delivered.

Councillor Danny Thorpe was elected leader at last week’s full council meeting, the first since the election on May 4.

The Labour Party held a massive majority in Greenwich, but did not manage to wipe the Conservative opposition out entirely, with nine seats staying blue.

Cllr Thorpe chaired the first meeting of the council’s new housing delivery board on Tuesday (May 29).

Speaking afterwards he said: “Council housing is something that is really important to me, it’s a massive priority and it’s actually quite personal.”

The new leader, who is just 36, was brought up on Eltham’s Page Estate, and also lived on the Ferrier Estate.

He said: “I think as a council we can do more, and people expect more. What I’m going to be pushing for is more council housing, I think the most we have ever done in a year is about 30, and I want to push that to about 60.”

It’s reported that just eight per cent of people now live in council housing in England.

Last year the Prime Minister announced an extra £2bn would be set aside for councils to use for council or affordable homes for rent, a figure that has been criticised by 121 Tory council leaders and heads of housing from across the country in recent research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Jamie Carswell, director of housing at Greenwich Council, said the council will lobby for extra cash for council housing, and that it's hoped it an start to aim for higher numbers to be built.

Planning permission was granted for 2,380 new homes in the borough in the last year – and 331 of these have been earmarked to be affordable.