‘Things can get better’, Rayner tells Labour conference, as she makes housing and work pledges amid donations row
22 September 2024, 15:01
Angela Rayner has told the Labour conference that "things can get better", as she unveiled pledges on workers' rights and housing, against the backdrop of a row over donations.
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Opening the conference on Sunday, the deputy Prime Minister told Labour members that they must "make the right choices" to improve the state of the country.
It came as the party was embroiled in a row over donations to senior ministers, including Keir Starmer, Ms Rayner herself, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
Labour, who have warned of a "£22 billion black hole" in the country's finances, are also under pressure over their plan to cut the winter fuel allowance for some pensioners.
Ms Rayner said: "Let me be blunt. We can't wish our problems away. We have to face them. That's the difference between opposition and government.
"But... things can get better if we make the right choices. Sustained economic growth is the only way to improve the lives of working people, and we're fixing the foundations to put Britain back on the path to growth. No more talking, but doing."
Labour has been keen to refocus attention away from the row and back onto its legislative agenda, and Ms Rayner described the government's Employment Rights Bill, which will face Parliament next month, as "historic legislation" that will "make work more secure" and "ensure rights are enforced and trade unions strengthened".
She said: "That means repealing the Tories' anti-worker laws and new rights for union reps too.
"A genuine living wage and sick pay for the lowest earners. Banning exploitative zero hour contracts and unpaid internships. Ending fire and rehire and we will bring in basic rights from day one on the job.
"Conference, this is our Plan to Make Work Pay - coming to a workplace near you."
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Ms Rayner also set out the government's plan for housing, telling conference attendees that not enough homes are being built, adding that "the Tories failed to meet their targets, year after year after year."
Ms Rayner, who is also the housing minister, said that "mortgages have soared, leaseholders are left at the mercy of eye watering charges, renters face crippling hikes in damp and mouldy homes, and homelessness is all around us.
"The simple aspiration of a safe, secure and affordable home is further out of reach than ever, and we can't go on like this."
Ms Rayner said that " change must begin at home" as she promised to build "decent homes for working people. "
She was speaking after unveiling a new planning framework that Labour said would help get more homes approved - provided they meet design codes.
Ms Rayner said this would "unlock the door to affordable homes and provide the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation."
She said the renters bill, which gives tenants stronger protections, would "rebalance the relationship between the tenant and the landlord and we will end no fault evictions for good."
Ms Rayner also said that she would "free leaseholders from the tyranny of a medieval system" with leasehold reform, adding that a "cross-government taskforce will put Britain back on track to ending homelessness."
The deputy Prime Minister added: "But my mission is not just to build houses, it's to build homes, because we cannot build at any cost. These new homes must be warm, secure, and most importantly safe.
"We will give families the security they need to have the best start in life."
She set out the government's immediate priorities - which include promises on employment rights for workers and protections for renters.
She announced a series of measures to protect renters from fire safety defects, damp and mould, and drive up housing standards.
The package is expected to include a new law aimed at ensuring landlords respond to reports of hazards like damp and mould swiftly.
The proposed legislation, Awaab's law, is named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died as a direct result of exposure to mould in the social home his family rented in Rochdale.
Labour estimates it would support tenants in 746,000 homes with reported serious hazards to secure faster repairs, reducing health and safety risks.
Ms Rayner also spoke of plans to accelerate efforts to fix unsafe cladding on high rise buildings across the UK, just weeks after the conclusion of the Grenfell Tower inquiry.
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She also laid out Labour's intention to consult on a new decent homes standard for all social and private rented homes.
The Deputy Prime Minister added: "For Labour this is not just about building houses at any cost but making houses people can call home.
"This means ending the scandalous situation where standards for existing and future tenants don't currently even meet the minimum of safety and decency everyone should expect.
"Today Labour is committing to raising the bar on the poor standards we've inherited from the Tories to ensure homes are fit for the future."
Housing charity Shelter described the Government's proposals as "promising" steps in the right direction.
Chief executive Polly Neate added: "Making sure that homes are safe and fit for the future is vital, but the Government will never succeed in giving everyone a decent home until it invests in the genuinely affordable social homes this country needs.
"That's why it must set a clear target for social rent homes to end the housing emergency for good."
The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England, meanwhile, said its members need "further funding and support to raise standards in the private rented sector".
Adam Hug, LGA housing spokesperson, said: "Councils could also do much more if they were given the right tools, such as removing the requirement for Secretary of State approval for larger selective licensing schemes."
