On Wednesday 24th July, we met Rushanara Ali, who is now the Minister responsible for building safety in the Labour government. We were told that the meeting would be 30 minutes, and we were asked to present our key aims and issues for discussion.
As the allotted time was very short, we focused on the Developer Contract, Grant Funding Schemes, Social Housing and Shared Ownership, Non-Qualifying Leaseholders, Buildings Insurance, The Health and Safety Executive’s Building Safety Regulator, and ensuring there was a joined-up approach.
The detailed notes of our meeting are here.
In summary, we were told that Labour has clear manifesto commitments on building safety and that officials are working “swiftly” on plans to make those priorities a reality. This seemed somewhat reassuring; however, we have little clarity on what this will mean in practice or what timescales the Government is now working towards.
Labour will also take decisive action to improve building safety, including through regulation, to ensure we never again see a repeat of the Grenfell fire. We will review how to better protect leaseholders from costs and take steps to accelerate the pace of remediation across the country. We will put a renewed focus on ensuring those responsible for the building safety crisis pay to put it right.
Since we first met the previous Housing Secretary, Michael Gove, in October 2021, we have worked in good faith with the Government to try to ensure its approach to building safety is fit for purpose and can be delivered effectively and quickly whilst also pushing for improvements in a range of key areas. This has included countless meetings with MHCLG teams, arms-length government bodies and several other stakeholders and trade bodies including developers, freeholders, housing associations, insurers, lenders and managing agents.
Unfortunately, many of the promises made by the Government were broken or came to naught due to a failure of political will and the general election subsequently being called on 22nd May. Since then, innocent leaseholders and residents have remained trapped in limbo and this uncertainty has continued since Labour came to power.
We recognise the strong support from Labour MPs when in opposition, a number of whom are now in the Cabinet or on the frontbench. Labour politicians have repeatedly said that their firmly held belief – that “all affected leaseholders should be fully protected from the costs of remediation” – is a principled one.
Labour has repeatedly recognised that the building safety crisis is the product of bad industry practices and state regulatory failure, a failure perpetuated by successive governments for decades. Labour also has repeatedly said that affected leaseholders played no part whatsoever in causing the cladding and building safety scandal, and that no leaseholder should have to pay to resolve a scandal of which they are the victim.
Labour is now in power and must not waver from its principled belief. Promises made in opposition must be kept. All leaseholders – in buildings of all heights, with serious external and internal risks – are equally innocent and must be protected. Over seven years since the catastrophic fire at Grenfell Tower, if the Labour government chooses not to save all victims from this unrelenting crisis, it will be nothing short of a betrayal.
We know there is a lot going on in the country and the wider world. We know that you are all exhausted and just want to be able to move on and live your lives in peace, without fear for your futures. As shattered as we all may be, as distressed by the broken promises as we all are, we will not stop campaigning until the Labour government delivers a truly comprehensive solution. That is the least that all innocent victims of this enormous scandal deserve.
Rushanara Ali, Angela Rayner and Sir Keir Starmer must show that they have the political will to end this crisis. We must have meaningful change quickly.
CALL TO ACTION!
We completely understand that leaseholders are tired of having to fight to make homes safe, but with one (hopefully) final push, you can take action to help ensure Labour cannot hide from fixing this utter mess:
1. Write to your MP regularly: MPs get hundreds of emails a day. If you and your neighbours don’t keep your MP informed about what is – or isn’t – happening at your development, they may think that matters are progressing smoothly and that they do not need to act. You can quickly email your MP using this online tool: Write to Them.
2. Speak to the media: With the recent publication of the Grenfell Inquiry final report, there is renewed media interest in the cladding and building safety scandal. If you are open to speaking to the media, please provide your contact details using this link.
Our thanks to those of you who have bravely shared your personal story and circumstances with the media throughout this crisis.
The End Our Cladding Scandal campaign calls on the Government to lead an urgent, national effort to fix the building safety crisis.
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