TORY ministers must ensure that the hundreds of thousands of empty homes across Britain are made available to social housing tenants and homeless military veterans, retail workers demanded today.

Delegates gathered in Blackpool for retail union Usdaw’s 2023 conference overwhelmingly backed a motion which urged Downing Street to work with councils to use “all the powers at their disposal” to free up unused housing stock for the most vulnerable.

The government’s own estimates suggest that at least 600,000 homes are currently vacant across England alone — more than double the 271,000 people recorded as homeless.

Between 3 and 6 per cent of those without a place to call home are from an armed forces background, according to the Royal British Legion.

Moving the proposition, delegate Syed Naqvi said: “Homelessness is set to rise. We may not be able to eliminate it, but we can surely make a dent in it.”

The Croydon-based member urged local authorities to enforce more empty dwelling management orders, which empower councils across England and Wales to possess a private unoccupied property that has been vacant for at least two years.

Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis enthusiastically endorsed the motion, saying: “We live in one of the richest and most developed countries in the world — good quality, affordable, safe homes are something we should all be able to take as a given.

“Instead, we face a housing crisis caused directly by the policies and decisions taken by Conservative governments over the last 13 years.”

The union leader called for “solid, transparent legislation” from Westminster to make the rules clearer for local authorities, which need to commit to using “all the levers at their disposal to address the housing crisis.”