Top Labour candidate worked for scandal-hit firm repeatedly slammed by Labour politicians

One of Labour’s top candidates hoping to take down Defence Secretary Grant Shapps was one of the most senior employees at a housing group repeatedly campaigned against by Labour politicians.

Andrew Lewin has spent seven years as the chief spin doctor for Clarion Housing - one of Britain’s worst social landlords - first as chief of external communications from 2017 to 2021, then as head of communications until the election was called.

During his time at the company, spending each day batting for the scandal-ridden firm, Clarion was frequently on the receiving end of outrage from Labour.

These complaints included the Hertsmere Labour Party, where Mr Lewin is now standing for parliament, who just last year launched a major campaign against Clarion after councillors across the borough were “inundated with emails, letters and calls from unhappy Clarion Housing tenants”.

Among the concerns raised included “rent hikes, fire safety issues, burst pipes, black mould, poor maintenance, long overdue repairs and parking”.

Grant Shapps has also confirmed these reports, telling the Express: “We have been inundated locally with complaints from tenants of Clarion who seem to be suffering at their hands.”

The Labour group even appeared to criticise their new candidate, complaining that many of those with serious concerns are “finding it increasingly difficult to communicate with Clarion”.

Labour councillors in Tower Hamlets also launched a campaign to “hold Clarion Housing to account” just this January, with Labour councillor Marc Francis fuming: “Another tenant badly let down by Clarion Housing”.

And in 2021, Labour members of the London Assembly condemned Clarion after a scandal on the Eastfields estate left 1,500 tenants living in squalor. They blasted the firm for giving a “staggering bonus” to its CEO while tenants “continue to endure sub-standard housing”.

Clarion has also recently practised “fire and rehire” with staff who did not accept new pension terms, a practice condemned by Labour and was blasted by Labour peer Lord Prentis in the House of Lords.

In October 2022, the housing firm was subject to the second only special investigation by the official housing ombudsman, a report that singled Mr Lewin’s out specifically due to his role as director of communications.

The ombudsman’s report particularly criticised “poor communication”, while demanding “strong leadership focused on redress and learning” in order to fix the swathe of problems identified, including damp, mould, and rodent infestation.

In January 2024 the Ombudsman then ordered Clarion to pay a further £10,800 in compensation after four further cases of severe maladministration involving damp and mould were identified.

Responding to the litany of complaints, a Clarion spokesman told the Express that they have “worked hard to learn from any areas where we could have provided a more positive customer experience and have embedded learning across our business and will continue to do so”.

They said: “We are a not-for-profit, charitable apolitical organisation and we work with stakeholders across the political spectrum to do what we can to tackle the housing crisis, engaging openly and fairly to deliver the homes we so desperately need.”

They clarified that Mr Lewin took an “immediate leave of absence from the organisation when the election was called on 22 May, and became a full-time parliamentary candidate”.

The Labour Party declined to comment.