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How I defeated the housing minister

Former Shelter head of campaigns Sarah Jones unseated housing minister Gavin Barwell on 8 June. She explains why she thinks housing played a role in her victory

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Housing was, rightly, a prominent issue across swathes of constituencies during this election. In few places was it more topical than in Croydon Central.

Not only is the constituency exhibiting all the symptoms of a housing crisis, but the Conservative candidate I defeated also happened to be the government’s housing minister.


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Rising homelessness, high private rents, the sale of social housing and rapid increases in house prices mean housing is an issue that now matters to everyone. But in areas like Croydon, housing matters perhaps most of all to two groups of voters who had been largely written off by Conservative-led governments in recent years: young people and private renters.

“They don’t vote, so they don’t matter” was the approach taken. Yet early evidence suggests these voters turned out in their droves last week, both in Croydon and across the UK. They took back control of their futures, and those futures involve a home.

“An important part of the youth vote surge was down to anger at a government and a housing minister who young people felt had failed to stand up for them on housing.”

On the doorstep I met young people angry at the prospect of never owning a home, and not enjoying the prosperity of their parents’ generation. Any attempt at saving is quickly swallowed by rent, which on average is now more than 50% of Croydon residents’ monthly earnings.

I am in no doubt that an important part of the youth vote surge in Croydon Central was down to anger at a government and a housing minister who young people felt had failed to stand up for them on housing.

Another important group with whom our campaign resonated was families. One quarter of Croydon’s families are having to rely on the private rented sector. These parents lack any sort of long-term certainty for their children, who could be uprooted from schools and friendships at the whim of a landlord.

Both these groups often face standards of living which are unacceptable. In any one year, six in 10 private renters face poor conditions such as damp, mould, rats, dangerous electrics and leaking roofs.

Nobody chooses this. These are people who know from bitter experience just how unattainable the homeownership dream has become. In my outer London constituency, private rents have gone up 25% since 2012, leaving more than half of private renters reliant on housing benefit to make ends meet. That is despite the fact people here, and across the country, are working more hours.

House prices in Croydon are now 10.3 times average earnings. With most banks offering mortgages at 4.5 times the average income, this is no longer a question of working and saving hard for a better future. Without bold action from government to increase the supply of all types of home at costs that local people can afford, that better future isn’t going to come.

The Conservatives’ Housing White Paper admitted our housing market is broken. Yet it did not offer sufficient solutions to the scale of the problem. Offering three-year tenancy agreements solely on new build homes ignores the vast majority of people already renting in a broken sector, who need help now.

“I will use my platform as MP for Croydon Central to keep fighting for the change we need.”

Labour is ready to take on these challenges, and so am I. Our campaign resonated with young people and private renters because we had a clear plan to fix the housing crisis, and I will use my platform as MP for Croydon Central to keep fighting for the change we need.

Three-year tenancies must be the new norm for private renters, with caps on rent increases and greater consumer rights to tackle poor conditions. Councils should have greater powers to bring empty homes back into use, bring land into development at lower values and force developers sitting on lucrative land banks to ‘use it or lose it’.

What’s more, we must help councils retain their historic role as a major part of the housebuilding mix. They are a key ingredient in building affordable homes which stay discounted to help future generations, and a new generation of homes for social rent. I look forward to fighting for them in Westminster.

 

Sarah Jones, MP for Croydon Central

 

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