'This is a political choice that has been made by this government for the last 14 years and it is absolutely unforgivable'
Homeless families served Housing Minister Michael Gove a mock ‘eviction notice’ on Thursday for his role in the rising housing crisis in England.
Protesters delivered the notice to Gove at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in London as they accused the Tory minister of presiding over the biggest homelessness crisis in Britain’s history.
Over 80 protesters with the campaign group Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL) held placards and led a demonstration highlighting the plight of families living in temporary accommodation and expressed their anger at the continued rise in rough sleeping.
The ‘eviction notice’ issued to Gove stated that there were currently record levels of house-less people in England, with over 309,000 people living in temporary accommodation, whilst 3.6m people are living in overcrowded homes.
Elizabeth Wyatt, a HASL member, told MyLondon: “This devastating housing emergency is ruining the lives of over 140,000 children in England. This is a political choice that has been made by this government for the last 14 years and it is absolutely unforgivable.
“But this can be turned around, it’s really that simple. We can solve the homeless crisis instantly with investment and expansion of high-quality, safe, secure, family-sized council homes that our communities need and deserve.”
The protesters demanded an increase in family-sized council housing as they shared their stories of living, in some cases for over a decade, in temporary accommodation blighted with damp and mould issues.
Rishi Sunak promised to end rough sleeping by 2024, however he was told by homelessness charities last year that his government was going backwards on meeting this goal. The latest figures showed the number of people sleeping rough in England is now more than double when the Tories came to power.
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “We are building more homes and boosting social housing supply. Our £11.5bn affordable homes programme will deliver thousands more affordable homes to rent and buy across the country. £4bn of this has been allocated to the Mayor of London to deliver much needed affordable housing in the capital.
“We are giving councils £1.2bn over three years to help provide financial support for people to find a new home and move out of temporary accommodation, including £568m for London.”
(Image credit: UK Government and HASL)
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues
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