Housing - Thangam Debbonaire

Houses in Bristol

The UK currently faces a housing crisis. Since 2010 we’ve seen a steep drop in investment for new affordable homes; billions of pounds cut from housing benefit; inaction on short-term lets; soaring rents in the private rented sector; and significant cuts to funding for homelessness services.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has shown us how important it is for everyone to have the right to a decent home.

On this page you will find my work in Parliament and in Bristol to campaign for meaningful action to tackle housing inequality, end homelessness and ensure that everyone has a place to call home.

My latest work on this issue

Mapping the cladding crisis in Bristol West

The cladding crisis may be out of the headlines, but it is far from over. I recently shared a survey with Bristol West residents which has shown just how widespread and chaotic this crisis has become. I wrote about some of the findings for Bristol247. As Shadow Housing Secretary until…

Are you affected by the cladding scandal? I need your help

If you live in Bristol West, and have been affected by the dangerous cladding scandal, I need your help. More than four years after the tragic Grenfell Tower disaster, thousands of people are still tangled in the increasingly complex scandal involving dangerous cladding and other fire safety defects in medium-…

Labour sets out a great future. How would it change Bristol?

In his passionate and eloquent speech at Labour Conference today, Labour leader Keir Starmer showed the country who he is and set out what Labour will do when in government. This bold set of commitments will deal with the rolling crises caused by the last 11 years of Tory rule.…

The Building Safety Bill: Another broken promise for thousands living in dangerous flats

I have been following the debate around dangerous cladding and building safety for some time, both as a constituency MP with many people in Bristol West affected, and from April 2020 until a few months ago when I was leading for Labour on this national scandal as Shadow Housing Secretary.…

Dangerous cladding: Labour pushes for Tories to keep their promises

It is now more than four years since the Grenfell Tower disaster. Over those four years, the government has procrastinated, dodged responsibility and changed direction. As a result, the cladding crisis has ballooned to affect a huge number of people. This week Labour is once again bringing this matter to a parliamentary debate. Labour MPs will be pushing…

Where is the Prime Minister’s plan for social care?

Where is the Prime Minister’s plan for social care? Dementia sufferers, their carers and families are desperate after an appalling year. I put this to the Leader of the House, Jacob Rees-Mogg. In response to my question, the promised the plan would come this year. I’ll hold him to this.…

Dangerous cladding: After the Fire Safety Bill, where do we go from here?

I am bitterly disappointed that the Government has passed the Fire Safety Bill with no protection for leaseholders, who are facing ruinous bills to fix dangerous cladding. But please be assured: this fight is not over. For the last four years, Labour has been urging the Government to move further…

Homes still being built with dangerous cladding, four years after Grenfell

This is incredible. It has emerged that homes are still being built with flammable insulation, at the same time as leaseholders are being forced to pay to have it removed. Almost four years after the Grenfell Tower disaster, the government has learnt nothing. Today in Parliament, my colleagues and I…

Rough sleepers should be helped, not punished

The next Labour Government will repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824, which criminalises rough sleeping, as I explained in a debate in Parliament yesterday. There are often genuine reasons why rough sleepers cannot use any shelter that is available and we must support them. Over the last ten years, wages have…

View all