Keir Starmer’s bid for Red Wall voters will leave the young out in the cold
No one wants to hear a longer speech from Keir Starmer after his first performance in front of live crowds at Labour conference last week. The ninety minute monologue on his vision for the party’s future was, in short, a lot. But even in the midst of winding journeys through his personal history, segues on work experience and throw-backs to Tony Blair, housing was conspicuously absent.
Starmer talked about education, mental health and security on the streets, but only in an en passant segment on insulation and the climate, did he get to the housing problems plaguing the UK and our cities.
If Labour is now the party of law and order – a slogan that reminds us more of the American drama than meaningful leftwing policy – who will be the party of housing?
Boris Johnson’s Conservative party is unlikely to be the chosen one. Yes, it is taking housing seriously, as attested by the appointment of the experienced Michael Gove as the new Secretary for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. But the Tories have thus far failed to clarify which aspect of the complicated policy brief sits in the grand scheme of the levelling up agenda. Nor do they have an angelic record of housing policies.
Grenfell towers was ripped apart by flames in 2017. In the four years since then, they have failed to tackle the cladding clinging to buildings up and down the country. Look at how long it took to introduce the Fire Safety Bill, which still doesn’t, by the way, protect tenants from paying for cladding remediation works.
The infamous Thatcherite “right to buy” was the brainchild of the Tories. According to some, this scheme destroyed the country’s social housing system. Research by London’s Deputy Mayor for Housing, Tom Copley, estimates that more than 40 per cent of ex-council houses sold under the Right To Buy in the capital are now in the private rented sector.
A U-turn to make housing a top priority, a-la-Boris, is unlikely. Social care was forced to the top of the agenda by the pandemic. Other major backtracks on free school meals were forced by fierce public demand. The drawn-out nature of the housing crisis means it can easily slide his political checklist, languishing in the bottom spot where social care normally resides.
If Labour has truly forgotten about housing, it has made a grand (and wrong) assumption that politically, there is little to gain from a focus on how and where people live. The Red Wall – lost to the Conservatives – is not immune from the housing crisis. But it does have some of the lowest housing costs in the UK. Starmer might think he’ll be better equipped to win back the Red Wall’s hearts with other tools. But what about young people?
In the 2021 local elections, four of the six metro mayor seats were won by Labour. Two were gains from the Conservatives. Young people and those in cities are a key Labour voter-base demanding housing reforms and getting thin air in response.
Where will the youth go when it’s time to cast the ballot? They might leave Labour for the Lib Dems. If Ed Davey proves able to exploit the vacuum and face the issue no one wants to talk about, a number of young people might slide into the political center. Though, it’s unlikely Davey will provide a persuasive alternate vision.
The only mention of housing from Labour’s frontbenchers in Brighton was from Lucy Powell, the shadow housing minister. She set out a commitment to give a stronger say to local communities about their estates and to increase the number of affordable houses for first-home buyers.
This all sounds reassuring. But the lack of investment in it as a policy is galling. Nor is there any mention of the cladding scandal. Starmer promised to present a feasible governing party. But shouldn’t a governing party, with its heart in the working class, be interested in ensuring people’s homes aren’t at risk of falling apart?
Starmer has made the political decision to try and reel back in the voters he lost, rather than build up those
he has.
Young people don’t have to vote – and they won’t, if they are politically disillusioned. If he really wants a “strong future together”, Starmer should focus on giving people a sturdy roof over their heads.