It’s not a new refrain, but it’ll do for the woman who would be leader of the Labour Party, if she can persuade a few more backers to show their cards.
Thornberry, Shadow Foreign Secretary, was speaking at a Labour hustings in Bristol when she told supporters that it was a matter of “inter-generational justice” and that the UK was in danger of “leaving a whole generation behind”, given so many young people could not afford to buy their own home.
“As for all these empty flats, for these people in China who think, ‘Let’s either buy a gold bar or buy a flat in Bristol’ – no,” she exclaimed. “You’re not allowed to buy a flat in Bristol as an investment and keep it empty. If you keep it empty, you lose it.”
The spirit is fair enough but would it solve the UK’s housing problems? Not really, even Ms Thornberry had other suggestions, which included one insightful suggestion that she tweeted: “The answer to the housing crisis is to build more homes! By having a carrot and stick approach we can build more homes and stop land banking. The housing crisis affects everyone and Labour must provide the solutions.”
The MP for Islington South and Finsbury’s next idea was that, “Councils should be allowed to take back land from developers who fail to act on planning permission within five years of gaining approval.”
Sadly, at this point of the race to become Labour Leader, Ms Thornberry is not looking too hopeful, during her visit to Cornwall last Friday (7th February) she likened the battle to beat Sir Kier Starmer and Wigan MP, Lisa Nandy, to lead the Labour party as ‘like It’s A Knockout’. Quite.
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