My husband, Michael Williams, who has died aged 83, was a passionate socialist who served as a Wandsworth Labour councillor from 1971 to 1990, elected to represent Roehampton. He was chair of the housing management and housing policy committees from 1973 to 1978, when Labour were in control, and then Labour spokesman for housing until 1990, when he retired undefeated.
Mike devoted his time, heart and soul to Wandsworth’s tenants, and they could not have had a better champion of their interests. He battled against bureaucracy and was at the forefront of opposition to Margaret Thatcher’s 1980 Housing Finance Act – which, in effect, took away from councils the right to determine how much their tenants had to pay. Mike joined with others in resigning his position rather than imposing what he saw as anti-democratic policies.
