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Manifesto fall-out: Inside Housing’s general election round-up – week three
Get all of the latest housing general election news through Inside Housing’s weekly blog
With election day now under two weeks away, Inside Housing has decided to publish a weekly diary on all of the major housing announcements in the weeks leading up to 12 December.
With a reporter covering every major party we hope to bring you all the key policy promises from all sides of the political landscape.
Scroll down to find out what the parties are saying about housing on the campaign trail.
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The Conservative Party
It was an unusual Sunday for the Conservatives, as the party decided to publish its manifesto when most people were tucking into their Sunday roasts. However, there were some housing giveaways included in the 64-page document.
Homeownership seems to be the order of the day for a Boris Johnson government, since the party announced an extension to the Right to Buy pilot, discounted homes for local buyers and new long-term mortgages for first-time buyers.
However, the extension of the Right to Buy to other areas in the UK has been met with scepticism by some in the social housing sector.
The Conservatives also looked at the private rented sector and have plans to implement lifetime rental deposits to eliminate the hassle of having to raise the funds for a deposit when moving to a new house.
📢 NEWS FOR RENTERS
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick
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🏡Under the @Conservatives, renters will be able to have Lifetime Rental Deposits which can be transferred from one rental property to another, making the process of moving home easier and cheaper.
It will help to:
⭐️Simplify the process
✂️Cut feesa>\uD83D\uDCE2 NEWS FOR RENTERS \uD83D\uDCE2
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) November 29, 2019
\uD83C\uDFE1Under the @Conservatives, renters will be able to have Lifetime Rental Deposits which can be transferred from one rental property to another, making the process of moving home easier and cheaper.
It will help to:
⭐️Simplify the process
✂️Cut fees
However, despite policies, much of the commentary around the manifesto was that it lacked any meaningful change in housing – blogger Jules Birch said it proved that housing had slipped down the party’s priority list.
The rest of the week was about no-shows for Mr Johnson, though. First, he was harangued for not putting himself up for a grilling from Andrew Neil. Then on Thursday, in a bold move by Channel 4, the party leader was replaced with a block of ice after refusing to attend the channel’s debate on climate change.
And today saw the housing secretary appear on LBC but it was HS2 rather than housing that stole the headlines, with Robert Jenrick declaring that he doesn’t believe in vanity projects.
The Labour Party
Having launched its manifesto last week with a flagship housing pledge to build 150,000 social homes a year with 100,000 of these social rented council housing, Labour spent the early part of this week pushing lines on homeownership and the private rented sector.
Clearly the party feels housing policy is its strong point and wants to make this aspect of its manifesto promises work hard during the election campaign.
In the private rented sector, Labour is promising – like the Conservatives – to end so-called no fault evictions, introduce rent controls and bring in yearly “property MOTs”.
These policies were grabbing headlines on Monday, with shadow housing minister Sarah Jones telling Sky News: “Put those three together and people can afford to live in a home, they know it’s secure and they can also be assured that it’s decent.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Residential Landlords Association reacted with alarm, claiming that the plans would “threaten to close down the private rented sector”.
Labour's new private renters' charter will give all renters the right to housing which is...
— Sarah Jones (@LabourS
🏠 AFFORDABLE, with caps on rent rises
🏡 SECURE, with an end to no-fault evictions
🏘️ DECENT, with new minimum standards and a 'property MOT'#RealRightsForRenters@Labour4Housing pic.twitter.com/ZJWmOkmDIX/a>Labour's new private renters' charter will give all renters the right to housing which is...
— Sarah Jones (@LabourSJ) November 25, 2019
\uD83C\uDFE0 AFFORDABLE, with caps on rent rises
\uD83C\uDFE1 SECURE, with an end to no-fault evictions
\uD83C\uDFD8️ DECENT, with new minimum standards and a 'property MOT'#RealRightsForRenters@Labour4Housing pic.twitter.com/ZJWmOkmDIX
Meanwhile, shadow housing secretary John Healey was making big announcements on homeownership.
He said a Labour government would force developers to offer first-time buyers at least 50,000 homes for discounts reaching half the market rate through planning conditions. The policy would be aimed at helping key workers, such as plumbers and police officers, with the discounts linked to local incomes.
The policy could be seen as a counter to the Conservative promise to use developer contributions to fund discounts of up to a third on 19,000 new homes for sale.
As the week went on, headlines about Labour’s housing policy were quickly moved to one side. First, leader Jeremy Corbyn’s interview with Mr Neil attracted huge attention, particularly for his failure to apologise for the party’s handling of anti-Semitism. Then the party attempted to regain control of the situation by pouncing on some leaked documents which, it claimed, shows that the NHS would be implicated in a trade deal between a Conservative government and the United States.
By Thursday evening, Labour was trailing new “regional manifestos” with promises on housing – as well as transport and jobs – for each area of the country.
The Liberal Democrats
Picture: Chris McAndrew
Former Conservative deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine gave the Liberal Democrats a boost at the start of the week when he called on the public to vote for Jo Swinson’s party, rather than back Mr Johnson’s “utterly disastrous” Brexit policy.
However, the party is still struggling to break through in the polls and Ms Swinson conceded during a speech on Thursday that the prospect of her becoming prime minister “now seemed unlikely”.
Instead, the party has ramped up its criticism of Mr Johnson, arguing that a vote for them is the best way to deny the Conservatives a majority.
On Monday, former Labour MP and current Liberal Democrat candidate Chuka Umunna compared Mr Johnson with rightwing nationalists, including Donald Trump, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Vladamir Putin. On Thursday, Ms Swinson said the Conservative leader was not fit to be prime minister.
Also on Thursday, Ms Swinson visited the Crisis offices in London to talk about homelessness and promote her party’s commitment to end rough sleeping within five years.
We’re delighted @joswinson visited our London Skylight to hear directly from people about their experiences of homelessness. This #GE2019 we're calling on all political parties to commit to #EndHomelessness in all its forms and publish a plan within the first year of Government pic.twitter.com/Z0aH17S6fL
— Crisis (@crisis_uk)We’re delighted @joswinson visited our London Skylight to hear directly from people about their experiences of homelessness. This #GE2019 we're calling on all political parties to commit to #EndHomelessness in all its forms and publish a plan within the first year of Government pic.twitter.com/Z0aH17S6fL
— Crisis (@crisis_uk) November 28, 2019
The leader also appeared on Channel 4’s climate debate alongside leaders from Labour, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party. During the debate, she emphasised a manifesto commitment to ensure all new homes are zero carbon by 2021.
The Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon started the week being grilled by BBC’s Mr Neil over her party’s NHS record and her conditions for supporting a minority Labour government. Alongside a second referendum, Ms Sturgeon said the SNP would push for a Mr Corbyn-led government to end austerity and “get rid of the misery of Universal Credit” in exchange for SNP support.
The party’s position was further clarified when it launched its manifesto on Wednesday. According to the document, the party’s Westminster MPs will campaign to end the benefit freeze and halt the roll-out of Universal Credit while changes are made.
On Thursday night, Ms Sturgeon appeared alongside other leaders on Channel 4’s climate change debate. During the debate, she focused on the country’s onshore and offshore wind facilities but struggled to answer questions on the North Sea oil and gas.
Also on Thursday, a new Ipsos Mori poll predicted a 44% vote share for the SNP in Scotland, which would see the party win 48 of the country’s 59 seats if calculations are correct.
"Labour has clearly been looking to Scotland for inspiration."
— Sky News (@SkyNews)
SNP leader @NicolaSturgeon says it is "striking" how much Labour's #GeneralElection2019 policy "borrows from what the SNP has already done in government".
Read more on the #GE2019 here 👉 t.co/amVHXSjDKe pic.twitter.com/p6XMxMU6C6>"Labour has clearly been looking to Scotland for inspiration."
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 20, 2019
SNP leader @NicolaSturgeon says it is "striking" how much Labour's #GeneralElection2019 policy "borrows from what the SNP has already done in government".
Read more on the #GE2019 here \uD83D\uDC49 https://t.co/amVHXSjDKe pic.twitter.com/p6XMxMU6C6
Again, it was a quiet week in terms of housing for the SNP – unsurprising considering housing is devolved to the Scottish government.
Tonight, Ms Sturgeon will take part in a special episode of Question Time, alongside Ms Swinson, Mr Johnson and Mr Corbyn.
