Election ‘last chance to fix broken renting system’ – as leaders urged to make ‘serious policy offer’
The general election may be “the last chance” to fix the UK’s “broken renting system”, housing organisations have warned as they called on party leaders to come up with bolder solutions to the crisis.
In an open letter to Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, groups representing tenants said thousands more people “face homelessness, poverty and exploitation” unless a “serious policy offer” is put on the table.
Election latest: Labour to win landslide and Farage to become MP for first time, poll projects
It comes as one renter told Sky News how he has been priced out of his home following a 40% increase in rent – despite the flat having “an excessive mould issue”.
The groups, including the New Economics Foundation (NEF) and Generation Rent, want all party leaders to commit to rent controls, a full ban on no-fault evictions and greater investment in social housing.
In the letter, shared exclusively with Sky News, they said: “As organisations representing and working with tens of thousands of private renters across the UK, we are warning the next government that the housing emergency is set to deepen unless major action is taken as part of a serious housing policy offer.
“This could be the last chance to fix our broken renting system before countless more renters face homelessness, poverty and exploitation. “
Average UK rents have been increasing well above average wage rises in recent years, with Londoners facing cumulative increases of over 31% since 2021 and similar rises in other parts of England and Wales.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
One million renters forced to move
‘Priced out of my home’
For Michele Tellarini, who was “priced out” of his two-bed flat in Lewisham after the rent soared from £1400 to £2000 per month, the issue is having a “devastating impact” on his life.
The customer service worker says he and his two flatmates, a couple, earn below the London living wage so they have repeatedly been turned away from estate agents who say their collective salary is too low for them to rent somewhere new together.
This has forced them to go their separate ways – but Michele has also struggled to find a spare room for himself due to “obscene” prices and competition.
Michele Tellarini
He told Sky News: “The crazy thing is when you message someone for a room, they maybe have received 30 to 40 messages and then you try and get it for the price but there is someone else who offers more.”
To add insult to injury, the flat they can no longer afford to stay in has had an “excessive mould issue” which he claims the landlord told him to “just deal with”.
“It’s devastating. I have been having panic attacks,” he said.
“I have lived In London for six years – every time I have moved I have been pushed out because I can’t afford to live there anymore.
“It’s normalised (when you rent) but it has a huge impact, you are never able to feel like a place is your area.”
Michele faced a rent increase despite ‘excessive mould’ problems
He is being priced out of his flat following a 40% rent rise
Leaders urged to adopt three key measures
Michele, 31, backs calls for rent controls to be introduced.
Critics of this policy say it would force landlords out of the market or discourage them from investing in the upkeep of their properties.
But the letter from housing groups said said the “skyrocketing cost of housing” is fuelling a 49% rise in evictions and means a record number of children now live in temporary accommodation.
“The reason for this crisis is an overreliance on unregulated private landlords to meet the nation’s housing needs,” the letter said.
It added that the government is effectively subsidising landlords by spending billions on housing support for people in private rented accommodation – money that could be better spent on social housing.
Starmer and Sunak have both pledged to build more homes
NEF research in January found the government will pay an estimated £70bn in housing benefit and other support to private landlords over the next five years – six times more than the £11.5bn they will spend on building affordable homes up until 2026.
Other signatories of the letter, which was also addressed to Ed Davey and the co-leaders of the Green party, include ACORN, the London Renters Union and the Greater Manchester Tenants Union.
The groups said the next government “must urgently prioritise the right to housing for its citizens over the profits of landlords” and adopt three measures:
• Abolishing no-fault evictions “in full and without loopholes”, requiring landlords to sell a home with a sitting tenant if they wish to stay;
• Rent regulation so that no one should have to spend more than 30% of their income on rent;
• Ending Right to Buy and investing in a “huge public housebuilding programme” to deliver 3.1 million council homes over 20 years – including funding for local authorities to convert privately rented homes into social housing.
“We urge you to engage with these proposals and be bold in addressing one of the most urgent social crises Britain faces”, the letter states.
Read More:
Labour announces mortgage guarantee scheme
Families homeless – but 33,000 properties are empty
What are the parties offering on housing?
Housing hasn’t featured particularly heavily in the general election campaign, which has so far been dominated by tax and spending.
But all parties have made pledges to sort out Britain’s housing crisis – which at its heart is a problem of lack of supply and spiralling unaffordability.
The Green Party is the only party that has backed rent controls in its manifesto, with the other parties more focused on housebuilding.
Labour’s headline offer to voters is to overhaul the planning system to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years. The party has also committed to banning no-fault evictions – a promise the Conservatives made in their last manifesto in 2019 but did not follow through on before the election was called.
The Tories, who also failed to deliver on their 2019 promise to build 300,000 homes a year, have pledged to build 1.6m homes over the next parliament, in part by abolishing legacy EU rules on nutrient neutrality.
The Lib Dems have set a housebuilding target of 380,000 homes per year, including 150,000 social homes.
UK
Lionesses parade: The route and key timings as thousands of England fans to descend on central London
The Lionesses will celebrate with thousands of England fans in central London today as the players take part in an open-top bus procession.
The bus will carry the team through central London, allowing supporters to celebrate the team’s defence of their Women’s Euros title alongside the likes of Leah Williamson and Chloe Kelly and catch a glimpse of the silverware.
Here is all you need to know.
Where will the parade go and when?
The team’s open-top bus will travel along The Mall from 12.10pm.
It will end with a staged ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, which is expected to start at roughly 12.30pm and end at 1pm, the Football Association (FA) announced.
The Royal Marines Portsmouth band and the Central Band of the Royal Air Force will perform on the stage and highlights from the tournament will be shown on big screens.
England manager Sarina Wiegman will then lead her triumphant team out on stage to lift the trophy.
The event will be hosted by former Lioness and football pundit Alex Scott.
Fans will be able to attend the event for free, but the FA have warned that the capital is going to be “very busy”.
“People should plan their visits carefully, both coming into central London and travelling home,” the association said.
England players celebrate with the trophy after winning the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025. Pic: Reuters
How to watch
You can watch coverage of the entire event live on Sky News from 10am and follow all the action with our live blog.
Fans can also follow coverage of the event on the BBC, ITV and across England’s social media channels.
Celebrations with the deputy PM
The Lionesses landed back in the UK from Basel, Switzerland, on Monday, where celebrations continued with a reception at Downing Street.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and sports minister Stephanie Peacock hosted the team ahead of today’s bus parade.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘It’s very, very special’
Sir Keir Starmer said: “The Lionesses have once again captured the hearts of the nation.
“Their victory is not only a remarkable sporting achievement, but an inspiration for young people across the country.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Chloe Kelly saves England again
An extra bank holiday?
As the team have become the first senior England side to win a major tournament on foreign soil, some have called for an extra bank holiday to mark the occasion.
Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey was one of those who asked the prime minister if it was “time for that bank holiday”.
He was referring to comments made by Sir Keir in 2023. When, as leader of the opposition, he wrote on X that there “should be a celebratory bank holiday if the Lionesses bring it home”.
But with estimates suggesting an extra bank holiday would cost the economy £2.4bn, it’s understood such a move isn’t being planned by Downing Street.
‘There is no stopping them now’
The impact of the Lionesses second consecutive Euros title is already being felt across the UK.
At Bearsted Football Club in Maidstone, Kent, a mural of Alessia Russo, who levelled Sunday’s final with a goal in the 56th minute, has been unveiled.
Alessia Russo scoring the levelling goal. Pic: Reuters
The club is where Russo first started playing, and chairman Jamie Houston told Sky News the Lionesses have helped transform the women’s game.
“Five years ago we never had a girl’s football team,” he told Sky correspondent Mollie Malone. “Now we have five separate teams for girls, and boys are accepting of more girls in the game.
“There is no stopping them now.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What’s next for the Lionesses?
Read more:
In pictures: The story of the Euros final
Fans celebrate at club where Lioness began journey
Analysis: England showed resolve and relentlessness
Lynda Hale, who played in the England squad in the first ever international women’s match against Scotland in 1972, reiterated that women’s football has changed drastically since she played.
“When I first started playing there was hardly anyone that would watch,” she told Sky News Breakfast.
“To put on the England shirt and think what we started has grown to this magnitude, and it is still going to grow, is absolutely fantastic. I think the sky’s the limit in women’s football.”
Asked what advice she would have for the current England squad after their win, Ms Hale said: “The girls need to make as many memories as they can and take everything in their stride.”
The suspect in the fatal shooting of a mother and her two children in Northern Ireland has died.
Ian Rutledge, a 43-year-old agricultural worker, had himself suffered a gunshot wound during the attack in the village of Maguiresbridge in County Fermanagh on Wednesday morning.
He was taken to hospital where he remained in a serious condition until the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) announced he had died on Monday evening.
It is understood he was the only suspect in the murder investigation.
Vanessa Whyte, 45, a vet originally from County Clare, her son James, 14, and daughter Sara, 13, were all shot dead at a property on Drummeer Road during the attack.
The PSNI said last week that all four people who were shot were members of the same household.
Police have been investigating whether the attack was a triple murder and attempted suicide.
A prayer service took place for Ms Whyte and the two children in Barefield, County Clare on Sunday, following a community vigil in Maguiresbridge last Friday.
A funeral service is expected to take place in County Clare later this week.
Following Mr Rutledge’s death, the PSNI said detectives have “reiterated their appeal for anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward”.
It comes after the PSNI issued an appeal on Saturday for information involving the movements of a vehicle.
They have asked anyone who saw a silver Mercedes saloon car being driven in the Clones Road area of Newtownbutler, or between Maguiresbridge and Newtownbutler, on the evening of Tuesday 22 July to call detectives on 101.
Read more from Sky News:
Lionesses celebrate Euros triumph at No 10
Trump reignites row with London mayor
The view from a plane dropping aid to Gaza
A police cordon was in place close to the scene last week. Pic: PA
Tributes paid to ‘lovely-natured’ children
A local Gaelic football club said last week that Ms White and her children were all “active and beloved” members of their club.
Sara and James Rutledge also used to be part of a local cricket club, which said in a statement that it was “extremely saddened by the tragic events”.
“Both of them turned out to be talented young cricketers and two absolutely lovely-natured children,” the statement read.
Flowers, teddy bears and an Arsenal football top with written notes were laid close to scene of the incident in Drummeer Road in the days after the shooting.
Donald Trump has reignited his row with London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan after calling him a “nasty person” who has done “a terrible job”.
During an hour-long news conference with Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland, the US president hit out at the Labour mayor, who has responded with his own snipey remarks.
Trump latest: US leader gives Putin new deadline to end war
Asked if he would visit London during his state visit in September, Mr Trump said: “I will, I’m not a fan of your mayor, I think he’s done a terrible job.
“A nasty person, I think.”
The prime minister then interrupted and said: “He’s a friend of mine.”
But the president added: “I think he’s done a terrible job but I will certainly visit London, I hope so.”
Sir Sadiq’s spokesperson then released a statement saying: “Sadiq is delighted that President Trump wants to come to the greatest city in the world.
“He’d see how our diversity makes us stronger not weaker; richer, not poorer.
“Perhaps these are the reasons why a record number of Americans have applied for British citizenship under his presidency.”
Sir Sadiq Khan was knighted in June. Pic: PA
They noted that Sir Sadiq has won three mayoral elections, including when Mr Trump lost the US election in 2020.
This is not the first time Mr Trump and Sir Sadiq have locked horns.
Read more:
US and EU agree trade deal
Scots divided as Trump heads to Turnberry
The PM told Mr Trump that Sir Sadiq is a friend of his – seen here laying wreaths for the anniversary of the 7/7 bombings. Pic: PA
During his first presidential term, Mr Trump called the London mayor a “stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London”.
Sir Sadiq then described Mr Trump as a “poster boy for racists”.
And in November 2024, after Mr Trump won his second term, Sir Sadiq said many Londoners would be “fearful” about what it would “mean for democracy”.
However, as Sir Keir tried to show diplomacy with Mr Trump after becoming PM, Sir Sadiq said he “wanted to work closely with the American president” ahead of his inauguration in January.
The London mayor said as somebody “who believes in democracy, and voting and elections, we should recognise the fact that Donald Trump is the elected president of the United States”.
But he added: “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this president is different from the last time he was president.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike