Cllr Mick Lerry, the leader of the opposition Labour Party on Sedgemoor District Council, believes that on the 2nd May the people will have their chance to send a message to Theresa May and her Tory Government whilst the media attention has been focused on Brexit, saying “it’s easy to forget that after nine years in power, the Conservatives’ record on domestic issues especially housing is one of failure on all fronts”.
“Home-ownership is down sharply, with almost 900,000 fewer young homeowners since 2010, rough sleeping has doubled, private rents have soared, housing benefit spending has increased, and the country is building 30,000 fewer social rented homes each year than with Labour. It is hard to find another area of public policy that is failing so comprehensively”, said Mick.
“Many people are finding that however much you save, it still gets harder to buy that first home. However many hours you might work or how much more you might earn, rents still eat up more of you pay packet. And however hard you might try, if you fall on hard times there’s often no safety net to catch you and your family if you can’t pay the mortgage or the rent.”
Housing Crisis
Mick continued “It’s why today more than two in three people in this country say there is a housing crisis, and why public concern about housing is now around the highest level it has been in 40 years. You have a right to expect better, and a right to expect Government to do more to deal with the failings in the housing market and housing policy.”
“Labour has set out some of the ways in which we’ll do things differently, including a plan for how a Labour Government could build a million low cost council and housing association homes over ten years – to rent and buy – as well as tough new standards for private rented homes, action to help first time buyers and a plan to end rough sleeping”, said Mick.
Vote Labour in the Local Elections
Cllr Mick Lerry said: “Bridgwater and Sedgemoor need a Local Government who will help us tackle the housing problems and pressure that people face day-to-day in our area – to build more low-cost homes, end rough sleeping and stand up for private renters”.
“So at the local election on 2nd May let’s send the Conservatives a message that we know the Tories don’t stand up for people in Sedgemoor and that they are failing to tackle the housing crisis. Only Labour can stand up for people here, so on polling day, we need to elect as many Labour Councillors as possible to stand up for our local community”, said Mick