Heather Mendick reports that the resolution below was passed unanimously by Hackney & Shoreditch CLP.
“The pandemic has underlined the scale of the housing crisis and the consequences of overcrowded and poor accommodation. Under the impact of events the government has executed a series of U-turns including the moratorium on evictions. But it will not be shifted by Parliamentary tactics and verbal criticism alone. It requires a campaigning movement which connects with the needs of millions whose lives are going to be disrupted further by the pandemic, the end of the moratorium, and fast increasing job losses.
We believe that Labour should demand of the government what we committed to in the Manifesto:
- £10 billion annual grant to fund building 100,000 social rent council homes a year
- Ending Right to Buy to stem the loss of council homes (less than 1.6 million council homes remain in England)
The Labour Manifesto also included a commitment to review council housing debt. Cancellation would give Housing Revenue Accounts at least an extra £1.25 billion a year towards the maintenance and renewal of their existing stock. It will help with the backlog of work which has built up during the pandemic. Labour should demand that the government cancel this bogus debt.
We call on Labour to organise a campaign which brings together all those organisations that recognise the need for a large-scale council building programme, including the growing tenants movement, to force the government to make a U-turn on funding for existing council housing and new build.”
Labour Campaign for Council Housing 