Latest editorial
THE Lords rejected the Tories’ so-called “pay to stay” policy in their damaging Housing Bill yesterday — slammed by a Labour peer as a “stealth tax” on council housing tenants.
The Labour-led amendment to make it only voluntary for councils to enforce the scheme was voted in 240 to 176.
Under the legislation, households with a total annual pre-tax income of £30,000 outside London or £40,000 in the capital would have to pay hundreds more a month to councils which would then pass the cash on to the Treasury.
Labour’s long-promised Act has scraped through the Lords. While the law marks a step forward, its lack of collective rights leaves workers short-changed — and sets the stage for a renewed campaign for an Employment Rights Bill #2, argues TONY BURKE
Labour must not allow unelected members of the upper house to erode a single provision of the Employment Rights Bill, argues ANDY MCDONALD MP
Our housing crisis isn’t an accident – it’s class war, trapping millions in poverty while landlords and billionaires profit. To solve it, we need comprehensive transformation, not mere tokenistic reform, writes BECK ROBERTSON