Siân Berry: London’s renters deserve more support

At yesterday’s London Assembly Plenary Meeting, Siân Berry AM introduced new YouGov polling to demonstrate Londoners’ overwhelming support for better rent control across their city.   

Defined as when the government sets caps on what landlords can charge, rent controls, or freezing rents, are supported by 69 per cent of respondents in the new YouGov poll. [1]   

In recent times, the Labour opposition to the government has watered down its support for renters, refusing to back rent controls should they win the next election. Even their voters disagree with them: the same YouGov poll finds that 82 per cent of Labour voters likewise support rent controls.   

Speaking in support of the National Renters Manifesto, Berry urged her fellow Assembly Members to hold the Mayor and Westminster to account on renters’ rights, saying:  

“London’s renters are facing the brunt of the ever-worsening housing crisis.   

“Rent controls are an essential part of the overall manifesto from grassroots groups, and this polling shows 69 per cent of Londoners are supportive of introducing the measure.   

“However, our polling also shows people are not satisfied with progress on the Mayor’s progress on creating new affordable homes. Those most affected know exactly how long a distance we must go before the housing crisis turns a corner.   

“When asked how well or badly the Mayor was doing on a range of issues, respondents returned the most negative answer on the topic of building affordable homes, with a total of 63 per cent choosing “badly” and only 17 per cent choosing “well”. [2]