Burnham also called for a Grenfell law, enshrining the right for decent housing for every citizen in Britain

The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has told an event at Labour Party conference that ‘housing should be first’ when it comes to the hierarchy of public spending, as he called on the Labour government to be bigger and bolder on tackling the housing crisis.

Speaking at a New Statesman fringe event on ‘How a Labour government can tackle the housing crisis and get Britain building again’, Burnham said that ‘housing has become the issue of this government’ and that the government ‘needs to go at the housing crisis like the last labour government went on the NHS crisis’.

He quoted Nye Bevan on the housing crisis, as he called for a housing first philosophy in Britain.

“I believe that one of the reasons why modern nations have not been able to solve their housing problems is that they have looked upon houses as commodities to be bought and sold and not as a social service to be provided.”

Burnham said that housing was key to tackling many other social problems, and asked: “How can a child have a good education if they’re going to a home not fit for purpose?”.

He cited work in Greater Manchester where a housing first philosophy is being adopted, with housing being ‘first in queue for any funds released in the single settlement’, because ‘people can’t have a good life without a good secure home.’

Burnham said it would be the ‘best investment this country could make if every citizen was guaranteed a good secure home’.

He also said that the government had to be relentless about existing housing stock not just fixated on building new homes, adding that too many homes in the private rented sector are ‘unfit for habitation’.

Burnham also called for a Grenfell law, enshrining the right for decent housing for every citizen in Britain.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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