Post by Flying Monkeys on Jan 28, 2018 12:46:51 GMT
A Labour government would "immediately" buy 8,000 homes and help councils "take over" empty properties, Jeremy Corbyn has said.
The Labour leader told the BBC the scale of homelessness in the UK was "disgusting" and "wholly unnecessary".
Powers to take over properties that were kept vacant deliberately would be given to councils, he said.
New figures out last week showed rough sleeping in England had increased for the seventh year in a row.
There were 4,751 people counted or estimated to be bedding down outside in autumn 2017, a 15% rise on the year before and more than double the figure recorded five years ago.
Conservative Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington said there were "a number of different reasons" rough sleeping had gone up - including mental health issues and drug and alcohol problems. "We have pledged to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it by 2027," he said.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42851024
The Labour leader told the BBC the scale of homelessness in the UK was "disgusting" and "wholly unnecessary".
Powers to take over properties that were kept vacant deliberately would be given to councils, he said.
New figures out last week showed rough sleeping in England had increased for the seventh year in a row.
There were 4,751 people counted or estimated to be bedding down outside in autumn 2017, a 15% rise on the year before and more than double the figure recorded five years ago.
Conservative Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington said there were "a number of different reasons" rough sleeping had gone up - including mental health issues and drug and alcohol problems. "We have pledged to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it by 2027," he said.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42851024
That's great from the Conservatives, but something needs to be done NOW. This is a terrible problem which I see every day and it's getting worse and worse each year. Where Labour will fail however, is to identify those who do have homes (in other countries) and exclude them from this scheme. I.e. voluntary homelessness should not be rewarded, and Labour will be taken for a ride on this one.
