Housing – Affordability, Homelessness and Justice for Grenfell
A debate on homelessness reported a 169% rise in rough sleepers since 2010. Some 3 million people are bieleved to be one step away from homelessness. This is no accident but is the result of years of austerity. Only building new homes would make any impact and Conference welcomed Jeremy Corbyn’s policy of building new homes.
Conference agreed to support the campaign for justice for the 72 who died in the Grenfell disaster. Delegate after delegate expressed outrage at the contempt the council leadership had shown for council tenants. Half of the survivors and those made homeless are still in emergency accommodation. Delegates from Kensington and Chelsea council branch described how their members were affected and how staff only heard that the ‘Tenant Management Organisation’ was to be disbanded from the media. There was a disgusting attempt to blame council staff (a number of whom were made homeless themselves by the fire) and firefighters for the deaths. It is really financial decisions by the Tory council, the weakening of health and safety legislation by the government and Boris Johnson’s closures of fire stations when he was Mayor that have caused the tragedy.
The whole of Conference, including the platform, stood with green scarves, the colour chosen by the Grenfell campaign, to remember the dead and show solidarity with the survivors who are fighting for justice. You can find news from Justice4Grenfell here