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London Assembly votes against mayor's housing strategy

London Assembly Members have voted against Sadiq Khan’s housing strategy, but missed out on the two-thirds majority needed to bind the mayor. 

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City Hall votes against Sadiq Khan's housing strategy, but opposition members failed to achieve a two-thirds majority. #ukhousing

Mr Khan and his deputy mayor for housing, James Murray, faced London Assembly Members yesterday afternoon to answer questions on the final version of the mayor’s housing strategy.

Members voted by 12 votes to 11 to reject the housing strategy, but the Conservative opposition did not achieve the two-thirds majority it needed to force the mayor to abide by members’ decision.

A central plank of the strategy, published last month, was the inclusion of an overall target of 65,000 homes a year based on local targets.


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The plans had been out for consultation since last September, but did not change significantly in its final version.

Andrew Boff, leader of the Conservative Party at City Hall, led the criticism of the mayor’s strategy, which centred around the lack of a specific target for family-sized homes.

He told the mayor: “What you’ve succeeded in doing is increasing the list of excuses for not building family-sized homes. There is not one more home that will be built as a result of the words that we have heard today. Not one, single family-sized home.

“The mayor has effectively abrogated responsibility for overcrowding and said, ‘leave it to the boroughs.’”

Responding to some of the criticism, Mr Murray pointed out that there had never been targets for family-sized homes before.

He added: “What we’ve done through this London Plan is set out an expectation that local authorities should set out the size requirements of low-cost rented housing.

“That’s the first time that requirement has been set out, and what it gives to boroughs is a requirement to look at local indicators of what sort of housing size-mix is needed and then set targets based on those local indicators.”

Sian Berry, the leader of the Green Party at City Hall, who is also running to be co-leader of the National Party, voted with the Conservatives to reject the strategy.

She attacked the plan for including the government’s definition of ‘affordable rent’ – 80% of market rent – in the strategy’s glossary.

Mr Murray said that including the definition did not mean the mayor’s office agreed that 80% of market rent was an acceptable level.

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