We’ll protect tenant rights
New Labour pledge as Starmer & Rayner answer readers’ questions
LABOUR has pledged to create a mandatory national register of property landlords to protect ‘Generation Rent’ from being fleeced .
Leader Keir Starmer said his party would come to the rescue of young people at the mercy of greedy property owners because they cannot afford their own home under this government.
It came as hundreds of Sunday Mirror readers this week sent in questions for Mr Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner on topics ranging from Brexit to foodbanks and the cost of a weekly shop.
Rishi Sunak last year tore up housebuilding targets. But Labour vows to “build the homes young people aspire to own”.
Mr Starmer added: “Generation Rent have been abandoned by this government. We won’t stand by while a whole ambitious and talented generation are left behind and forced to struggle.”
RHYS: Which Tory policy would you abolish right now if you could?
KS: Their refusal to have a proper windfall tax. It’s so urgent now.
SANDRA: Will Labour find a way to remove the need for foodbanks?
KS: Yes, I hope so.
AR: Nobody in work in the UK should be in circumstances where they can’t afford to feed their family.
MICHAELA: What are Labour’s policies on gun and knife crime?
KS: We’ll tackle it head-on. You can buy zombie knives online as easily as you can buy a football. It’s totally wrong. The Government has failed. AR: And we’d have bobbies on the beat. You’ve got to have that Neighbourhood Policing model.
ANONYMOUS: Do you stand by Labour’s 2019 pledge to compensate women hit by the state pension age rise?
KS: They’ve been put in an awful position. It’s a huge injustice. I think there’s a court case going on at the moment so I’ll have to wait and see what the outcome of that is.
DOUG AND MARTIN: How would you stop illegal immigration?
KS: We want to deport anybody who shouldn’t be here. But of all the people who arrived by small boats in the last year or so, only 1% have had applications processed. The Home Secretary and Prime Minister need to explain to the country why they broke the asylum system.
ROBERT: Are you committed to abolishing the House of Lords?
KS: I don’t think anyone can defend the House of Lords. We’ve set out plans to abolish it and replace it with a different second chamber. The proposal we have on the table is capable of being implemented in the first five years.
MARTIN: In what circumstances would you be prepared to ‘push the nuclear button’?
KS: The deterrent has to be effective and you have to have a prime minister who’s prepared to use it. As to the circumstances in which it should be used, that’s not a question anybody who aspires to be PM should answer.
MARIANNE: Would Labour demand companies who profited from useless and undelivered PPE supplies give back the money?
KS: Billions of pounds were wasted on contracts that shouldn’t have been given. The Government has just written it off. We’re not in the business of writing off taxpayers’ money like that.
AR: We’ve got our procurement strategy, which is again about how we write a ‘clawback’ into contracts – so if they weren’t fulfilled we could claw back that money.
ISAAC: You’ve ‘adapted’ a number of promises you made during your leadership campaign. Why should the British people trust Labour’s manifesto?
KS: Those pledges are really important. Some of them have to be adapted to current circumstances. I think that’s common sense.
VICTOR AND JANA: Would you ever consider rejoining the EU and how would you make Brexit work?
KS: There’s no case for rejoining the EU. With Brexit, we need a better deal. The public was sold the current deal on the basis it was oven-ready. Instead, it’s half-baked.