On Wednesday evening, representatives from the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Green Party went head to head in the only hustings event in this election campaign specifically focused on housing. Hosted by the RIBA at Portland Place, in partnership with nine organisations from across the housing sector, the panel members faced a grilling on subjects ranging from building safety through to the local housing allowance. Many of the questions were posed by people with lived experiences in homelessness and living in temporary accommodation, as well as professionals with experience in the sector.
Social housing dominated the discussion, with the Chair of the event, the Evening Standard’s Ayesha Hazarika, repeatedly questioning candidates on what they considered ‘affordable’ to mean in practice. In response to many of the questions asked, the three opposition parties returned to their plans for a social house building revolution if they were to take power. Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister John Healey pointed to Labour’s record in government delivering homes for social rent, while Sian Berry said that the Greens were the only party proposing enough investment to tackle the shortage of affordable homes. Carshalton and Wallington MP Tom Brake representing the Liberal Democrats asked voters to look at the feasibility of the plans of all the parties, saying that what his party was proposing was both ambitious and realistic.
Conservative Minister for Local Government and Homelessness Luke Hall spent much of the evening outlining his party’s record in government. He highlighted the £9 billion the government has invested in its affordable homes programme as evidence of the party’s commitment to addressing the affordability crisis in the housing market. As well as referring to housing policies introduced through the last Parliament, Mr Hall said the Conservative Party would commit to unfreezing Local Housing Allowance rates and promised greater devolution to help communities find local solutions. He was challenged by the other three candidates on housing benefit, with all three saying their parties would do more to tackle the unaffordability of the rental market and the root causes of homelessness.
There was agreement from all candidates in response to question from former RIBA President Jane Duncan about the need to tackle the issues with the building safety regime. Tom Brake and Sian Berry both made the point that the recommendations from the inquiry into the Lakanal House fire that took place in 2009 are still yet to be implemented. Luke Hall raised the government’s plans to implement the recommendations of the Hackitt Review, while John Healey discussed Labour’s proposed £1 billion fire safety fund for retrofitting and sprinklers in buildings.
Sustainability was also a key topic discussed, with the RIBA Stirling Prize winner, Goldsmith Street housing scheme, being highlighted as a target to aim for in sustainable housing delivery. Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens all committed to developing retrofit strategies to make the existing housing stock more energy efficient. However, there was disagreement over the scale and ambition of the plans, with Sian Berry saying the Greens had proposed the most money for an issue that is crucial but not traditionally thought of as ‘sexy policy’.
The range of topics discussed is a reminder of the complexity of the challenges facing the country on housing. The stories recounted in the room were a stark indication of the need for ambitious proposals to fix the many facets of the current crisis. No matter which party holds the keys to Downing Street on 13 December, the RIBA will continue working to bring about the change needed to help secure everybody a safe, affordable, quality home.
