John Healey on Grenfell, Boris Johnson and Labour housing policy

You’ve been vocal in accusing the government of not acting fast enough on fire safety since Grenfell. What makes you think Labour would have done better?

We understood from day one that a national disaster of the scale of Grenfell requires a national response from government.

We’ve had to urge action from ministers on every front, as only government can tackle the problems that Grenfell exposed – from getting unsafe ACM [aluminium composite material] cladding removed, to testing other suspect cladding systems, to guaranteeing residents a stronger voice, to overhauling the building safety system.

More than two years on, Conservative ministers still haven’t taken these vital steps.

Boris Johnson looks set to become prime minister. How do you think this could affect housing policy?

Making predictions in politics is a fool’s game, especially in these Brexit-dominated days. I wouldn’t bank on Boris Johnson to win.

I certainly wouldn’t bank on him to fundamentally changing Conservative housing policy. His track record is full of promises made, then broken.

In London, he promised to end rough sleeping in three years, but it more than doubled while he was mayor.

What housing policy would you implement first if Labour wins office?

We’d set up a new, fully fledged housing department to recognise the scale of the housing crisis. We would knock heads together in Whitehall and lead a housing drive on all fronts, from an end to rough sleeping, to legislation for private renters, to building a million truly affordable homes.

How many ovens have you got?

One double oven – that’s more than enough for us.

John Healey, shadow secretary of state for housing, will give the keynote address at 3.30pm on Wednesday 26 June in the Auditorium