‘Of course it’s fair’: Minister defends controversial policy of prioritising social homes for those with ‘UK connection’
The government has defended plans to prioritise social housing for British citizens and those with “close connections” to the UK as “fair”, despite charities criticising it as divisive.
Housing minister Lee Rowley said social housing was a “finite resource” and the government wanted to “make sure that we use it in a way which works”.
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Under the plans, applicants for social housing would have to demonstrate a connection to the UK for at least 10 years and their local area for at least two years, in what ministers are describing as an “overhaul” of the system.
People with unspent criminal convictions or certain civil sanctions for anti-social behaviour could also be banned from social housing for up to five years, while those who “repeatedly make their neighbours’ lives hell” through anti-social behaviour also face eviction under a “three strikes and you’re out” policy.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Rowley said housing was “always going to be a finite resource”.
“We want to make sure that we use it in a way which works, which supports the people who need it but is also fair.”
Asked what would happen to people who were either not British or had not lived here for a long time, Mr Rowley said they could rely on the private rented sector, while those who are homeless would be helped by the government into temporary accommodation.
Pressed on whether the plans were “fair”, the minister replied: “Of course it’s fair – it’s fair that people who’ve been here for a long time who have paid into the system get the access to social housing, which is a precious and finite resource.”
Charities have criticised the announcement, with Shelter branding it “scapegoating at its worst”.
“It is unnecessary, unenforceable and unjust,” it said. “If the government genuinely wants to tackle the housing emergency there’s a clear solution: we need more social homes.”
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‘We’re not building enough houses’
The charity went on to say there were already “stringent” rules that meant only UK citizens or those with settled status could access homes for social rent.
“This is nothing but blaming a group of people for a housing emergency they did not create,” it said.
Labour frontbencher Peter Kyle said measures were introduced under the last Labour government that ensured that people who came to the UK had to work for a certain period of time before they could access housing benefit.
“It is right that people who are in areas where there is a real acute challenge with housing know that housing should go to people who are already born and raised in certain communities because if they believe people are coming in, it can damage the fabric of that community,” he said.
“But let’s just be clear about what the real challenge is here – we’re not building enough houses.
“With a Labour government, if we get one in the election this year, we will build a million houses every year, because we need to make sure we get back to the fact that we are backing the builders and not always being dragged back by the blockers in the Conservative Party.”
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The policy, which was announced last night, could also see terrorists with certain convictions blocked from living in social homes while new social tenants on high incomes may also no longer qualify.
The salary threshold is yet to be determined, so existing tenants would not be affected.
The government has said it wants to bring in the reforms “as soon as possible” but is now carrying out an eight-week consultation that will run until 26 March.
It has suggested some of the measures may be implemented by secondary legislation which would mean they do not require a vote in parliament.
Politics
Sunak and Starmer facing historic unpopularity with ethnically diverse communities, polling suggests
Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer are both facing a historic lack of popularity among ethnically diverse communities, new polling suggests.
While ethnically diverse community voting trends are incredibly complex and almost always hard to predict, some polling can give useful indications that can speak to the mood of the country.
A comprehensive set of data based on polling by Ipsos and shared exclusively with Sky News gives us a general sense of how the leaders of the two main parties are faring at this very specific time.
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Sunak more popular with white voters
Mr Sunak was named the UK’s next leader on the festival of Diwali, serving as a reminder of the milestone in Britain’s evolution as a multicultural and multi-faith society.
He’s the UK’s first prime minister from an ethnically diverse background and the first Hindu prime minister, but in terms of how much ethnically diverse communities have rewarded him for these historic firsts, it’s a somewhat surprising figure.
Over the past year, his approval rating among ethnically diverse communities is -53.
That figure is historic too – it’s one of the worst of any prime minister in nearly 30 years.
Actually, from these figures, he’s much better liked by white voters – who give him a rating of -41.
This is perhaps unsurprising, given that historically the majority of ethnically diverse communities have voted Labour.
Though support for the Conservatives reached a high of 30% in the first half of 2016 and only falling sharply in the aftermath of Brexit and then in the 2017 general election under a different leader.
Sir Keir behind Blair and Brown
For the Labour Party then, the stakes could not be much higher as they bill themselves as the party of equality and progressive politics and ethnically diverse communities have traditionally rewarded them for it.
The party has consistently held large leads with ethnically diverse community voters over the last few decades and under previous Labour leaders, often given net positive satisfaction levels.
The current leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has a more favourable rating than the current prime minister, with an average satisfaction rating over the past year of -32.
But he is also considerably more popular among white voters.
And when you compare these numbers to previous Labour leaders, it is more stark.
Sir Keir’s standing with ethnically diverse community voters currently is the lowest level a Labour leader has recorded among black and south Asian voters since 1996.
Far worse than the very worst ratings recorded by either Tony Blair (at -11 during the Iraq War) or Gordon Brown (at -13).
‘The Gaza Effect’
Now, there are myriad reasons why individuals and different communities have drifted from the central parties and traditional voting patterns, but Ipsos has outlined one specific thread of dissatisfaction with both parties that they call “The Gaza Effect”.
During by-elections and the recent local elections we saw a wave of independent candidates running on this single issue platform, most prominently George Galloway in Rochdale, but this data shows an indication of how deep that sentiment runs.
When you compare the aggregate satisfactions levels across the year for both leaders, you can see how different ratings become for ethnically diverse communities when compared to white voters.
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For white voters, there’s next to no effect in satisfaction levels towards the two leaders post 7 October.
When you compare that data to the rating ethnically diverse community voters have given the two leaders, there is a noticeable drop in support.
For Mr Sunak the drop is only around 13 points, but for Sir Keir, it is far more significant with a huge fall of 29 points.
The scale of the impact is almost impossible to predict, and the drop in these figures won’t necessarily translate into votes or even seats – but what is clear is these figures show both parties will need to offer ethnically diverse communities much more to win their vote at the next election.
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