Politics LIVE: Sadiq Khan’s rent-controlled homes meant for ‘key workers’ on ‘ordinary incomes’ will be available to solicitors, barristers and actors
A new plan for rent-controlled homes in London will also be available to barristers and solicitors.
It comes as Sadiq Khan announced plans for at least 6,000 new rent–controlled properties, known as Key Worker Living Rent (KWLR) homes, in the city by 2030.
The list of professionals that would be eligible includes vets, psychologists and the clergy, provided their household income is less than £67,000 a year – as well as solicitors, barristers and even actors.
The London Mayor, a former solicitor himself, said: “The housing crisis in our capital doesn’t just affect those on the lowest incomes, it impacts those on ordinary incomes who struggle to meet high housing costs in London. That includes the everyday heroes who are the backbone of our city – our nurses, teachers, bus drivers, shop workers, and cleaners.”
Parliament would be required to pass laws to give the Mayor the necessary powers to regulate prices set by private landlords. However, a Government spokesman said in August that ministers have “no plans whatsoever to devolve rent control powers.”
Rent control measures introduced by former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland last April backfired and drove up rents instead.
Jo Galloway, of the Unison trade union, said that the plans “should help deliver more safe, secure and affordable homes for staff who keep the capital’s vital public services running. Unison has long campaigned for a fairer rental market and for essential workers’ voices to be heard and represented.”
Kristian Niemietz, of the Institute of Economic Affairs think tank, told The Telegraph that the proposals in London were “not much of a solution” adding that it was a “new type of public housing.”
FOLLOW ALONG WITH ALL THE UPDATES BELOW
Faith-based schools ‘are not the preserve of the wealthy’ warns Independent MP
An MP has said faith-based schools “are not the preserve of the wealthy” in a warning over Labour’s controversial private school VAT plans.
Iqbal Mohamed, the independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley, told the Commons: “It is not… the children of the wealthy who attend independent schools in constituencies like mine in Dewsbury and Batley, where faith schools are often the only option for families who can’t get their children into local state school due to demand or where state schools cannot meet their religious and spiritual needs.
“These families are overwhelmingly from low-income backgrounds, and the removal of business rates relief on charitable private schools will result in a further increase of their fees, in addition to the VAT that is also proposed.
“For wealthy families, this might not be a problem. For the families in my constituency, it is a major problem.”
He later said: “In many communities, faith-based schools are not the preserve of the wealthy. They are a place overwhelmingly educating the children of ordinary working class families.”
Starmer could hit back at Trump tariffs by taxing Harleys and Jack Daniel’s
The UK has retaliatory tariffs on iconic US goods including Harley Davidson motorbikes ready to be immediately deployed in case of a trade war with Donald Trump.
The British government has been wargaming how to respond to potential Trump tariffs on UK goods, with officials briefing ministers that they can repurpose former EU measures against the US without any need for further investigation.
The UK tariffs were still in place when Britain formally left the EU in February 2020, and included American products like Jack Daniel’s bourbon, Levi’s jeans and Harley Davidsons. They were suspended in 2022.
Politico reports that the UK can immediately place these tariffs back on the US if Trump delivers on his threat to hit all overseas imports with 10 to 20 per cent tariffs without triggering pushback from Britain’s trade watchdog.