Sylbourne Sydial: The people of Lewisham are my boss, not Kemi

Sylbourne Sydial describes himself as an activist and 'conduit of change' whose role as mayor will be to empower Lewisham residents.

He has plans for Youth Empowerment hubs in every ward, and to bring council cabinet cabinet meetings out of the Civic Centre and into the community, to open them up to scrutiny.

He streams his wellbeing and motivational podcast every morning to a global audience as he walks in local parks, then goes off to work as a social care lawyer.

Salamander met with Sylbourne in Forster Memorial Park and asked him our most pressing questions.

Q: There are 11,000 households in Lewisham on the waiting list for social housing, but we know that developers don’t want to build it.  How are you going to address this?

A:   A hallmark of my policies is that a conversation needs to be had with the council and developers.  And there needs to be a conversation with the council and the residents of the area.

We will negotiate with developers for affordable housing .. and I believe that the mayor plays a fundamental role in this.

The mayor has an executive position and is in a position to influence. So I see the mayor as someone pulling these big players in, to say, let's have a conversation, let's talk.

'This is the issue, what can we do?' .. advocacy is going to play a big role.

When people ask the question, who's going to be your boss? For me, personally, the residents of Lewisham are the boss.

It's not going to be Kemi. It's not going to be the policies of the Conservative Party cascading down. It is what the people of Lewisham want.

One of the things that we set out in our policy was an Empty Homes Task force. .. We realise there are homes around the place which are empty ..

And a lot of people are living in some squalor, with mould and other factors. That's why we'll publish a clear waiting list breakdown.

Housing is a problem which is national. There needs to be some sort of lead, in the sense whereby councils of different political parties come together and try to lobby central government.

But it's not going to be an individual borough, like Lewisham, that can push that.

It's not going to work like that. Because the housing need is so big.

Q: There are around 36,000 households in social rented housing in Lewisham. The council has a long history of failure in its handling of repairs. How did this serious neglect come about and what still needs to be done?

A: Fifty years of a Labour council creates a lackadaisical attitude, a lack of accountability ..

And I believe in relation to that, and to the ombudsman's findings .. the amount of money the council has paid to fight some of these cases could have been used for better social housing.

So I believe the solution is accountability, from the top down .. and I believe there is a lot of waste in the council.

If you've got all Labour councillors there, 54 with two defected [now four], a Labour mayor, Labour government, there's no accountability.

And they're just going to go with the flow and tick the figures ..

The problem arose with lack of accountability and transparency, two of the seven tenets of the Nolan principles.

Q: Salamander launched in March 25 and we have reported on many campaigns by local residents opposing intensive high-rise development - all of these campaigns have been unsuccessful.

But residents saw Blackheath getting "special treatment", and many readers told us this seems unfair.  What do you think and what's your vision for future development?

A: So the Blackheath decision was put on hold, then you're seeing people in Lewisham demonstrating [Lewisham Peoples Assembly campaign to Save the Shopping Centre] and they have many more signatures ..

And I draw the conclusion, it's about the weight, it's about organisation and people need to come together in a very strategic way ..

Blackheath, of course, wielded their power and achieved their results.

The question is, why the other places can't do so? Why shouldn't Catford be the jewel?

And the mayor should be in a position .. to empower the people to have a voice, be a catalyst ..

So when I see Amanda [De Ryk] saying that now that we have a Labour government, she can use power and not protest to get changes, I say, Amanda, I'm sorry, but a lot of changes in this world came about by protest ..

Protests bring change. And these protests .. go further into becoming legislative power.

People protest, and they should be encouraged to protest ..

People are feeling disempowered, disenfranchised, and so what I'm trying to say is a vote for Sylbourne is a vote for your voice, to activate your voice, boost mode.

I believe so many people need to be activated to feel that they can flourish, they can live, and they can have a voice, and that is .. how people can bring about those changes.

I'm an activist. I speak up on issues for Jamaica, for example when they were going to remove some teachers because of some qualified teacher status ..

I see myself as a voice for the voiceless.

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Q: Vision Zero - There have already been two tragic deaths in road accidents in Lewisham this year. 80% of KSI (killed and serious injury) victims are pedestrians and cyclists.  

What steps would you take to increase take up of public transport and make cycling and walking safer?

A: Non-drivers are crucial .. One of the issues that comes up a lot is LTN, and parking, and of course those are drivers' issues .. another example is in Beckenham Place Park, as you come out of the park, right in front of a church, there is a parking bay with lots of bikes, and the church complains, they're blocking our entrance ..

Then at the same time you've got to balance it out with bikers .. and I believe there needs to be a lot of awareness, and a lot of teaching as to how we deal with this.

The 20 mph zone, I believe works, it's good .. it has its downs for drivers .. but it has its place - as I found out when I had to go on the speed awareness course.

So a lot of it has to be education, to try to reduce the level of fatalities on the road.

I'm a strong advocate of walking .. I do a podcast called Walk and Talk Motivational Moments, which is just me walking around and having a conversation. 

I like to go in the park and walk and just sit .. I know all the birdsongs .. walking gives you a sense of well-being and it frees your mind. 

Q: Cars and SUVs - Car journeys in Lewisham are increasing year on year, and cars are getting bigger. A move to active travel would reduce air pollution, make Lewisham safer, reduce climate emissions and improve health.  

Do you support moves to increase active travel (walking, cycling and public transport) and reduce car use, and if so how?

A: I believe it's a conversation that has to be had, we have to be careful that we're not pitting people against each other. It's a balancing act.

I'm very pro-business and when I'm speaking to the different businesses in Lewisham, in Sydenham, in Catford, they have issues when it comes to deliveries and they need goods to come in as well.

People who come from different places want to shop and they can't really carry their luggage or whatever, so they need a car to park in different places. 

But at the same time, we're talking a percentage of persons that don't need vehicles and they go and shop and they walk, and they take the bus as well ..

Sometimes I drop my children to Bromley to do some shopping up there. People shop in Bromley because they have lower parking charges. 

In Lewisham, they will have to spend more for parking, and they don't have that experience of shopping around.

And that experience is not there because footfall has been decreasing. Marks and Spencers are leaving, different banks are leaving.

In Catford, where Iceland is and the Tesco is .. a guy who sells watches there for years said to me "Sylbourne, if those two shops go, Catford is finished".

Q: Education - At KS2, disadvantaged children in Lewisham have achievement 8% below London average for disadvantaged children.    

Across all children, Lewisham schools have achievement below the London average at KS2, the gap gets wider at KS4 (GCSE stage) and for academic pathways at KS5. 

What will you do to support schools and teachers to address this?

A: I was speaking to people who were talking about the challenges they have with their child in school, and they realised that they have to do a lot for them when they come home from school.

So I believe a lot of it has to do also with families, parents. I believe there are a lot of broken families .. And there are single parents, who sometimes do not have the time ..

One of our plans is Youth Empowerment hubs, like a youth centre but with a teaching element.

It is something we would have in every single ward, a hub with teaching which has to do with AI, CV writing, preparing people for jobs ..

Conisborough school is down the bottom of the park there. I see young people walking or sitting here in the park. And I say, I'm standing for mayor, what would you like?

And they say they need a place where they can go. They don't want to be on their mobile phone so much. They need more youth centres.

The Youth Empowerment Hub is going to be in every single ward .. then it grows a leg, tapping into existing groups which are already there.

If you don't empower the youths, if you don't actually train the youths today, you need police in the future.

Why do gangs succeed, county lines? .. It's because they put themselves forward and say "I'll take care of you".

 Q: Immigration, asylum and refugees - Lewisham is a Borough of Sanctuary, but Labour government policies are making it harder every year for refugees to reach this programme. 

As a Conservative, what is your national party’s position on immigration, refugees and asylum seekers to the UK?

A: I think Reform has spooked them! I'm going to take this position that New York mayor, Mamdani, took.

When they asked him if he won, will he go to Israel - and all the other persons were saying, I'll visit Israel - he said, no, I'm staying in New York, for the New Yorkers.

My vision and my prime responsibility will be the people of Lewisham. And that means, anyone who resides in Lewisham will be helped as much as they possibly can be.

And that means persons who are within the sanctuary fold. We are a nation of immigrants. I'm an immigrant from Jamaica, I came here in 1992 ..

For a few days, I was "overstayed" before I went back to my employer and got it sorted out.

I know the whole issue when it comes to wanting help and wanting some sort of understanding for my immigration issues ..

Are they deemed to be a Lewishamer? If they live in Lewisham but maybe don't have a proper status, yes, they are deemed to be a Lewishamer.

We're not talking about "Are they British?" We're talking about the borough.

I strongly believe, and as a Christian as well, it's very important that you look out for those who are destitute.

Does it takes away from the national policies of the Conservatives?

I said to Dutton on BBC [interview], if it is up to me, what I would really love for immigration is this.

Labour, Green, Reform, we all sit down together and talk about how we can do it together. And therefore it doesn't become a political issue, except in delivery.

Q: Safety and crime is coming up as an issue in London’s local elections.  

City Hall has pushed back against misinformation and social media scares, saying that London has the lowest homicide rate in its recorded history.

In Lewisham, there has been a decrease in many kinds of crime, but there was a tragic increase in homicides, to 10 last year.  

Do you believe that social media is fuelling a panic?  Do you think Lewisham is unsafe and if so, what is your solution?

A: Lewisham has the biggest police station and Lewisham also has a crime issue.

In speaking to a few police, one of the things they said to me was, HMOs are there to rehabilitate persons, and I agree that persons who are ex-offenders need to be rehabilitated ..

But what is also happening is that Lewisham apparently, it is not official, but it can be a dumping ground for ex-convicts in HMOs .. there is a postcode factor that kicks into play there .. and permission that needs to be given.

I would love to understand the thinking behind HMOs ..

We are seeing a lot of anti-social behaviour. We are seeing persons on the road, using drugs, dealing drugs, and you wonder, the police keep seeing them regularly. What's happening there? Something is not adding up.

And I believe there's a national thing that needs rethinking, whereby persons are not able to challenge or address shoplifters.

Shoplifters get away with a lot .. shoplifters are using it to feed some other appetite or things that they're doing, and then that manifests more crime ..

Lewisham doesn't have a police and crime commissioner. But the mayor has the influential power to have a conversation with the borough commander to see what's happening,

I believe there needs to be more more CCTV in different areas, as much as possible.

Maybe there needs to be some incentive for people to have more Ring doorbells.

 There's so many tools out there, if you want to be very firm on crime.

We want a neighbourhood policing deal, and to target crime hotspots, like a bit of Downham there, a bit of Catford there, a bit of Deptford there as well.

 Not trying to mark certain places officially, but dealing with it ..

And I'm a Neighbourhood Watch chair, Neighbourhood Watch is something which I would be a strong advocate for, in every street in Lewisham.

 Q: The NEB briefing from scientists to MPs in November 2025 tried to raise the alarm about climate and nature breakdown, and how we need to mobilise from government level down. 

The collapse will profoundly affect the lives and futures of everyone in Lewisham, particularly younger people. 

As mayor, you will have a powerful platform.  How will you use it to help bring about the transformation that we need to address these linked crises?

One of the things that I say is about advocacy, and the mayor may not have to agree with everything, but is a voice that will speak up on everything, as much as possible.

I believe when it comes to climate, and we talk about the LTN, our low traffic neighbourhoods, which lots of people are against ..

I need to listen to what people are actually saying and try to capture and encapsulate it. People are wanting a clearer view of LTN as well ..

But there are bigger issues out there, climate is an area that I would have to really dig into a bit more, maybe I'm one of those persons who are guilty, just living in oblivion, just carrying on with life, and realize that things are happening before us .. it is something that I'll have to approach, especially for Lewisham,

I like things green .. it's all over, those different areas you can walk through, Beckenham Place Park, Mountsfield and Manor Park, those are green places which are very important ..

The world is all messed up in a sense, with everything that is happening, and if we can do one bit to make a change in our spheres of influence .. for here now, somebody take up the rubbish here .. or do I have to drive to the park here? No, I can walk to this park today .. there's a wealth of opportunities.

I'm not going to give the impression that I know everything, but I'm apt to be a voice that will listen, and to be the voice of the people of Lewisham.

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