LUXURY FLATS FOR ROUGH SLEEPERS
Jezza: I will clear the streets
JEREMY Corbyn yesterday vowed to take over empty luxury flats and hand 8,000 homes to rough sleepers.
The Labour leader said he wanted to introduce new laws for councils to confiscate swanky properties left empty.
But Mr Corbyn ruled out a second referendum on Brexit amid fresh calls for a new poll.
And he appeared to distance himself from the so-called “Norway model” of remaining in the European single market outside the EU.
Mr Corbyn told the BBC’s Andrew Marr: “Norway accepts all the rules of the single market, doesn’t have any ability to influence them whatsoever, and is a rather different economy to ours, because it’s heavily dependent on mainly oil. We’re not.”
On the homeless, he said he would buy housing association properties and give them to rough sleepers if elected Prime Minister.
Labour claimed the cost would be covered by a plan to ramp up investment using borrowed funds.
Asked if homeless people should be given luxury flats, Mr Corbyn said: “We would give local authorities the power to take over deliberately kept vacant properties.” He also highlighted ® by PAUL DONNELLEY property sold off plan to overseas investors.
Mr Corbyn added: “There is something gross ly insulting about the idea you would build a luxury block... deliberately keep it empty knowing that with property price inflation, the investor is going to make 10% or 12% a year... maybe a bit less but they are going to make a fair amount out of it. Surely we have to have a social objective and a social priority in our society.” Last year there were 4,751 people sleeping rough – the highest number in eight years – according to statistics from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.