Chair of the Rochdale Branch of GMTU, Mark Slater, was invited to speak at a Labour Conference fringe meeting on Sunday the 23rd September at the Novotel Liverpool Centre. The meeting - “A Rally for Social Housing” attracted around 70 people.

Chaired by the Leader of Birmingham City Council John Cotton, speakers at the meeting included Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, several other MP's and housing organisers from across the country.

At the meeting, he made the case that in a time of housing crisis, with over a million people on the waiting list for a home nationally, demolition of ANY social housing should be completely ruled out. He recounted how two members of the campaign, Beryl and Audrey - both in their 80’s, knocked on his door seven years ago, and how their sheer determination to fight for their homes against demolition inspired him to join the campaign.

He went on to say that although tenants had been promised a Renters Reform Bill back in 2019 by the previous Government, subsequent changes to the bill had seen items such as abolishing Section 21 (so-called “no fault” evictions) watered down and losing their impact.

Although he was pleased that the new Government had worked quickly to introduce the new Renters Rights Bill, Mark stressed that the details need to be closely examined. He pointed out that we need actions that can be taken quickly, to help relieve some of the local pressures brought on by the Housing crisis. For example, many properties are standing empty in both the Social and Private rented sector, and landlords should be pressured to recommission them quickly or risk losing them. He also suggested that funding was urgently needed to refurbish empty properties that are below an acceptable standard.

Mark spoke about how it is a basic human right to live in a decent, safe, dry and warm home, mentioning the tragic death of little 2 year old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale. The new law protecting social tenants in this regard is appropriately named “Awaabs Law” and it is a key feature of the new Renters Rights Bill that adherence to this law is a requirement for all landlords, whether social or private.

Although he was initially given just three minutes to speak, he was so well received and made such an impact that he continued for nearly 8 minutes. When he finished, he was loudly applauded and congratulated on his speech afterwards by many individuals and representatives of housing organisations.

Well Done, our Mark!