Former Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has spoken out against what he calls “the greed of the mega-landlords.”
The veteran MP - who was effectively deputy to former party leader Jeremy Corbyn - says: "Even before the [Coronavirus] crisis, tenants were being crushed between high rents and low wages. The Covid crisis has only made the situation worse.
“Meanwhile, UK billionaires have increased their wealth by more than 237 a day since the pandemic began.
“Enough is enough - we have to defend working people against the greed of the mega landlords. We need transformative solutions, like banning no fault evictions and cancelling all pandemic rent debt."
McDonnell’s comments come in a protest by left wing Labour group Momentum against the end of the bailiff-enforced eviction ban.
Momentum activists in London staged a mock eviction of Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick; other Momentum protests were held in Portsmouth, Southend, Hammersmith and Shipley.
Momentum is demanding: an end to section 21 evictions; the cancellation of all pandemic rent debt; and the extension of the eviction ban until the pandemic is over.
Momentum is also campaigning for a housing motion at the Labour party conference which, if passed, would commit Labour to building 100,000 council houses a year and give councils the power to requisition long-term empty homes and put them to use to solve the housing crisis.
The motion would also commit Labour to implementing a national housing system to house all those experiencing homelessness, regardless of immigration status.
Another Labour MP, Apsana Begum, told protesters: “The pandemic has hit renters incredibly hard. Now the Tories are letting vulnerable people be evicted during a pandemic in order to guarantee the profits of mega landlords.
"The government must take action to protect renters now. From banning 'no fault' evictions to cancelling pandemic rent debt, there are immediate steps we could take to prevent renters from bearing the brunt of the crisis."
Housing lawyer and QC David Renton added: “Under the lockdown, hundreds of thousands of tenants have been threatened with evictions by their landlord. So far, fortunately, the number actually evicted remains much less.
“My worry is that with the eviction ban going, these threats will turn into reality.”
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Isn’t McDonnell the guy who has 3 houses and wants everyone else to have 1 ?
Typical labour hypocrite
Yes. True. But of course Marxists are known for unfairness.
He can rant from the side lines, hard left labour stand no chance.
What landlord is going to evict a good tenant, rents are set by market forces
H is the reason labour vote has collapsed. It is going to ale decades for labour to come to power.
Keep on ranting your daft policies to you fan club. mr mcdonell
This is the reason why me and my family no longer vote labour. The labour vote bank will continue to fall as their policies are made in wonderland.
The landlords are the working class, whose rights have not been protected during the pandemic. We have worked hard all our lives to buy a rental property which according to these labour clowns should house non paying tenants who should be housed by the UK prisons.
Labour party are too thick to realise that majority of Landlords are working class.
( fortunately with more sense that to vote Labour. )
Its always been a tiered society. The richest 1% own basically everything anyway. We're just arguing about what is left over, and sadly they want that too. The crazy thing is, despite the greedy over-controlling regime we have in the conservatives, the vast majority of the voters still vote them into power. The biggest case of Stockholm Syndrome ever.
New S.8 and breathing space for Tenants, no breathing space for LL snuff the last breath out of him, then they have the cheek to talk about mental health which they cause with nonsense rules. What they are doing is enough to drive anyone crackers, add traffic creating schemes, penalties, blocked off roads clogging main arteries, over the top speed restrictions / 20 mph virtually all over the Capital, London wide Congestion charge, £15. Emissions charge £12. daily coming except Christmas Day no wonder people are leaving Town how is this racket going to help the economy mutton heads.
So you come out with this drivel before the election. Lose to the point labour virtually doesn’t exist and then carry on with the same tune. Don’t expect to be in power any time soon will you Mr Macdonnell.
Hell, yes. Mega greedy landlords. Lets break out, they can all stay in our houses for free. Hell no, we could pay them to stay and look after the property. What an equal society that would produce. All that HB saved for the Government could be paid to destitute Landlords. Oh, hang on, back to original position!
'Look after the property'? No, more likely to wreck it!
Labour may have changed their leader to a slicker more likeable face, but Momentum are still there and in numbers waiting to introduce a socialist marxist agenda which would ruin the country. Old labour voters who work and strive for better are not stupid and will give them a wide birth until the infiltrators have been removed. I do agree with building more council houses for hard working families .
Brilliant idea Labour, please keep it up, keep doing more of the same and you will guarantee to keep old Boris in for years, brilliant
Cannot wait for the next General Election when Labour will get thrashed even more than in 2019.
Council elections I spoiled my ballot with NONE as they are all as bad as each other.
Longer the better. Thanks........
It is a fact that we landlords are seen by many as the greedy Lamborghini driving tax evading equivalent of a drug dealer. The fact that we spend small fortunes have people steal and destroy our properties and get zero assistance from the police because of the above is just why this country is slowly falling into a total us and them society. The mp’s who are landlords are trying to use the government to close private landlords down. We are total upstarts in their eyes snd not worthy of being in “their business “. I never believed in the us and them scenario but it truly is like that in the uk. Most especially further up you go.
i drive a porsche!
I have 3 Bugatti Verons
Its sad to hear landlords having such a bad time. Rental homes are an essential part of our housing infrastructure. These people who treat their homes badly are making life really difficult for those who just want an affordable, safe and pleasant home to live in.
Greed of Mega landlords, un-professionalism of small landlords. Now all we need is an attack on the medium sized landlords.
Small talk from very small minded people Who have nothing to offer but have lost the plot.
As long as THEY continue to attack LLs whether mega, medium or small size they will never be voted into power.
What is the qualifying level to be a 'Mega Landlord' asking for a friend
friends of jenrick?
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