Rayner slams Tory rental “failures” but light on ...

Labour deputy leader and shadow housing secretary Angela Rayner has given her party’s conference an outline of future policy plans.

She says: “The Tories have failed renters, leaseholders, and first-time buyers. They’ve failed to build the homes Britain needs. Labour’s plan for secure homes will put an end the Tories’ housing emergency.”

However, so far, she has given few details of Labour’s rental policies beyond those known about for some time - a Renter’s Charter along the lines of the Renters Reform Bill, and a pledge not to introduce rent controls in England.

An informed policy leak to The Guardian suggests the party would prevent developers from “wriggling out” of their affordable housing obligations, by setting up a new expert unit to give councils and housing associations advice to get the best deal during negotiations.

It would publish guidance to prevent developers claiming that building more affordable homes was not viable, permitting them to challenge 106 rules only if there were “genuine barriers to building.”

She has told conference delegates: “Rishi Sunak and the Tories have time and time again taken a sledgehammer to the foundations a good life can be built upon. Decent jobs, secure homes and strong communities are being snatched away from people.

“With five Prime Ministers in seven years and constant chaos and instability, Britain’s future has been left to take a back seat. The Tories’ legacy is national decline – a nation levelled down and starved of hope.

“While the Tories have stolen Britain’s future, it’s Labour that will give it back with our plan to make working people better off by securing growth for all people and in all places”.

And she has continued: “Labour’s New Deal for Working People is our plan to boost wages, make work more secure and support working people to thrive. Our New Deal is mission-critical. It’s how Labour will make work pay.”