‘Homelessness shames us all. Labour will act where the Tories have failed’

People sleeping on the streets are uppermost in our thoughts as Christmas approaches and temperatures plummet. It’s not only heart-breaking but a national scandal that several thousand people must lie on freezing cold pavements given we are the world’s sixth biggest economy.

Tragically, a homeless man is reported to have died during the recent sub-zero conditions while sheltering inside a car in Beeston, Nottinghamshire.

This month, Shadow Secretary of State for Housing and Levelling Up Angela Rayner, London’s deputy mayor for housing Tom Copley and I visited Crisis’ Skylight centre in Tower Hamlets. There, we met with and heard the stories of some of their members who have and are experiencing homelessness. Whilst varied, all were heart-breaking to hear.

Labour in power will be judged on its record on homelessness

For then Home Secretary Suella Braverman to describe this harsh reality as a “lifestyle choice” was beyond cruel. It is clear to see that the government will not meet its target to end rough sleeping by 2024, a conclusion reached by the Kerslake commission.

Of course, the term homelessness applies to anyone without a place to call home, not just those sleeping rough. Shamefully, latest government statistics reveal 105,750 families living in temporary accommodation, up 10.5% on last year. Among that number are 139,000 children.

With a vision of a more caring and fairer Britain, an incoming Labour government will be rightfully judged on its success in tackling homelessness, including ensuring the next generation can grow up in a safe and secure home.

13 years of Tory government have left a mountain to climb

Homelessness is damaging to individuals’ health and life chances – but there’s also a huge cost to society, not least through the loss of potential and talent. A stable home is a prerequisite of good physical and mental health, happy relationships and the base from which to develop a career and raise a family.

But after 13 years of Tory government, there is a mountain to climb with a chronic shortage of decent, secure and affordable housing. While a toxic mix of rising rents, the cost-of-living crisis and a failure to end no-fault evictions is hitting the poorest hardest.

Creating a strong economy, with opportunities for all and a safety net for when people fall on hard times, will be the big picture under Labour. But how do we ensure everyone has a home as a basic human right?

If the Tories don’t abolish no-fault evictions, we will

No-fault evictions are one of the biggest causes of homelessness. Sadly, since 2019, we have seen nearly 78,000 households put at risk of homelessness due to this measure. And yet the government is kicking the promise to abolish no-fault evictions into the long grass.

That’s why Labour is pushing for Section 21 to be abolished on the day the renters reform bill gets royal assent. No more excuses. If they don’t do the right thing, we will.

We will also draw inspiration from the last Labour government, whose rough sleeping unit was pivotal to ensuring the whole of Whitehall worked together and not against each other to tackle this crisis.

Trauma-informed care is key to preventing homelessness

And prevention is key. Too often, people become homeless as they are passed between institutions and too many fall through sometimes glaring cracks.

The care leaver, the prison leaver, the domestic abuse victim who has had to flee to another area or the veteran. For individuals at the heart of the homelessness emergency, trauma is often at the core of their story and how they ended homeless in the first place.

Trauma-informed care must be central to any plan to prevent and break the cycle of homelessness in the medium to long term.

Labour will get Britain building homes again

The bottom line is, we won’t solve the affordability crisis for housing associations, let alone individuals, couples and families, unless there is an adequate supply of homes in this country.

The Tories have broken their promise to build 300,000 new homes a year, and only 8,386 new social homes were built in England in 2022-23.

Labour will get Britain building again by constructing 1.5 million homes – alongside adequate infrastructure – to make housing more affordable and kickstart the economy following years of sluggish growth. We will turbo-charge the proportion of genuinely affordable, social and council houses that get built every year, alongside planning reform.

I want a country that doesn’t have nearly 140,000 children in temporary accommodation. We must get Britain building homes, hopes and dreams again, and that is my New Year’s resolution for 2024.