Chinese President Xi Jinping is delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on Sunday morning. [Photo/CGTN] Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday said the Belt and Road Initiative is… read more
Photo taken on May 13, 2017 shows the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China. The Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation will be held in Beijing from May 14 to 15. (Xin… read more
John Healey, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, responding to Theresa May’s announcement that the Conservatives will build more affordable homes, said:
“This is political spin, with no substance. There’s no commitment on the number of new affordable homes or on new funding.
“Under Theresa May and the Tories we’ve seen seven years of failure on housing, with the level of new affordable housebuilding now at a 24-year low.
“The number of government funded social rented homes being built has fallen to fewer than 1,000 last year from almost 40,000 under Labour in 2009-10.
“Theresa May has been at every cabinet since 2010 and can’t sidestep her share of the blame for the Tory housing crisis. The number of home-owners has fallen by 200,000, homelessness has more than doubled and new affordable housebuilding is at a near-record low.
“After seven years of failure, the Conservatives have no plan to fix the housing crisis. A Labour government will back first-time buyers and build the homes we need, including 100,000 genuinely affordable homes to rent and buy a year by the end of the next Parliament.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
· Affordable housebuilding has fallen to a 24 year low: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/595369/Live_Table_1000.xlsx
· The number of government funded social rented homes started each year has fallen from almost 40,000 to fewer than 1,000: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/572767/Live_Table_1012.xlsx
· Home-ownership has fallen by 200,000 since 2010 after rising by a million under Labour: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/595786/2015-16_Section_1_Households_Annex_Tables.xlsx
read moreNow more than ever, it is vital to have strong SNP voices standing up for Scotland. Only then can we protect Scotland from the dangers of an unopposed Tory government at Westminster and continue to make Scotland the best country it … read more
A Labour Government will protect the incomes of twelve million pensioners by legislating to keep the ‘triple lock’, Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, will say today.
Under the Conservatives’ watch 300,000 more pensioners are in poverty, yet the Conservative Party has failed to commit to the ‘triple lock’ on state pensions; a policy which protects pensioners’ standard of living by guaranteeing that their incomes rise to meet the cost of living.
A Labour Government will protect pensioners by legislating to guarantee the triple lock, and committing to keep the Winter Fuel Allowance and free bus passes.
Meeting pensioners in Norwich on Saturday, Jeremy Corbyn will say:
“The Conservative’s failure to guarantee a decent standard of living for older people, Tory cuts to social care and their failure to protect the NHS are proof that the Tories’ are abandoning older people.
“With more pensioners in poverty under the Conservatives, it is clear that a Labour Government is necessary to provide a secure and dignified retirement for the many who have contributed all their lives.
“Labour will legislate to guarantee the triple lock on state pensions over the next parliament, and we’ll protect the Winter Fuel Allowance and free bus passes.”
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