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Thirty-two Conservative MPs signed up to rebel amendment to protect cladding leaseholders
Thirty-two Conservative rebels have signed an amendment aimed at protecting leaseholders from the cost of fire safety works ahead of the return of key fire safety legislation tomorrow.
MPs will vote on the Fire Safety Bill tomorrow as part of a process of ‘ping-pong’ between the House of Commons and House of Lords.
An amendment, tabled by Conservative backbenchers Stephen McPartland and Royston Smith, currently has the support of 32 of their colleagues as well as MPs from all other major parties according to a list seen by Inside Housing this week.
However it is not yet clear whether a vote will be taken on the amendment and it would appear to be a significant distance short of the 73 rebel MPs required to defeat the government, as the legislation will only be voted on by English MPs.
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Campaigners hope MPs will support the amendment, even though it is unlikely to pass, in order to send a message that a defeat on future legislation where the English-votes law does not apply is likely if it does not change course.
The number of MPs supporting the amendment has dipped only marginally from the 37 signed up when housing secretary Robert Jenrick announced a £3.5bn top-up to cladding funding – a move seen by many as an effort to buy off the rebels.
Other signatories include Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. The Labour Party’s current shadow housing secretary, Thangam Debbonaire, has repeatedly said the party will support the amendment, although it also has its own.
The amendment would prevent a building owner from passing on the costs of works “attributable to the provisions of this act” to leaseholders or tenants of the building.
The legislation will require building owners to check cladding works for fire safety defects – closing a previous legal loophole which suggested these were not covered by fire risk assessment rules.
It will also provide stronger measures for fire and rescue services to hold building owners to account and give ministers the power to quickly amend the legislation to incorporate recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
The government is currently proposing to water down the implementation recommendations of the inquiry with regard to the frequency of fire door checks.
Following lobbying from industry representatives, it also sought to water down proposals surrounding the evacuation of disabled people, although it has relaunched a consultation on this following legal action from family members bereaved at Grenfell Tower.
The government has published no plan as to how it will implement a proposal to fit all high rise buildings with a manual alarm system.
The 32 Conservative MPs are:
- Andrew Mitchell
- Andrew Percy
- Andrew Rosindell
- Anne Marie Morris
- Bob Blackman
- Bob Neill
- Caroline Ansell
- Caroline Nokes
- Chris Green
- Damian Green
- David Amess
- David Davis
- David Warburton
- Elliot Colburn
- Jason McCartney
- John Baron
- John Stevenson
- Julian Lewis
- Maria Miller
- Matthew Offord
- Pauline Latham
- Philip Hollobone
- Rehman Chishti
- Roger Gale
- Royston Smith
- Sir Peter Bottomley
- Stephen Hammond
- Stephen McPartland
- Thomas Tugendhat
- Tom Hunt
- Tracey Crouch
- William Wragg
Update at 3.45pm on 23.2.2021:
This story was updated after publication on the information that the number of MPs supporting the motion had changed from 33 to 32. The list of names was altered accordingly.
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