Arti Dillon, south east London Socialist Party
Over one million homes in England are empty. The problem isn’t a lack of space, but a political choice not to bring them into public use. The privatisation of housing, with the use of hotels and B&Bs, is a result of successive governments’ failure to provide accessible, affordable homes for everyone.
Trade unionists can be at the forefront of the fight for decent housing whilst also opposing attacks on asylum seekers, tackling the root causes of misdirected anger: the lack of jobs, resources, and council homes for everyone.
The Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC), founded by Unite Housing workers a decade ago, is building tenant and resident power, demanding a complete halt to the commercialisation of housing, a freeze on unfair rents, an end to poor maintenance, and a call for genuine democracy and accountability.
- Visit their website at www.shaction.org
- Take part in the conference on 18 October
The Socialist Party fights to:
- Bring empty homes into public ownership! Councils can use Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) and Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs). Launch a programme of mass council house building and improvement
- Cap rents, not benefits, and reverse welfare cuts
- Raise the minimum wage to £15 an hour for all as a step towards a real living wage, without exemptions
- Fully fund support services and housing for women impacted by domestic and sexual abuse
- Councils should set needs-based budgets now using reserves and borrowing powers, then send the bill for the services we need to Starmer’s Labour government. A mass working-class campaign can win jobs, homes and services for all
The reliance on hotels for asylum seekers is a direct outcome of government decisions over the last five years, channelling billions of pounds into private hands. The Home Office asylum system has become a cash cow dominated by private companies Serco, Mears, and Clearsprings Ready Homes. Clearsprings’ post-tax profits have more than tripled since 2022, to over £90 million last year! This is on top of English local authorities doubling their homelessness spending in a decade, with money mostly going straight to profiteering landlords.
