A roof over your head, a home to come back to, a place of safety and comfort.

Everybody wants a decent home.

And yet here in south London, it is becoming harder than ever for people to get onto the housing ladder, or to find a place with reasonable rents.

It really shouldn’t be so hard to buy or rent a property in a modern capital city like London.

So why is it so hard? 

In London, we’ve seen house prices rocket beyond most people’s reach.

We’ve seen mortgage companies demanding sky-high deposits.

We’ve seen average rents increase, beyond what’s reasonable.

And at the same time we’ve seen too many high-end apartments built, often bought as investments from the builders’ plans, some not even lived in,

And not enough affordable homes for families, couples or single people.

This Conservative Government has overseen a crisis in housing, with an overheating market and nowhere near enough homes being built.

Indeed, since 2010, housebuilding has fallen to its lowest level since the 1920s, rents have risen faster than incomes, 

there are almost 200,000 fewer home-owners, 

and new, affordable housebuilding is at a 24-year low.

So what’s the answer? 

It’s obvious. We need to build more homes. Homes to buy, homes to rent, homes for all. 

The next Labour Government will launch a massive house-building programme to give people hope once more.

By the end of the next Parliament, we will be building at least 100,000 council and housing association homes a year for genuinely affordable rent or sale.

And what about Labour councils?

Labour councils have been building an average of nearly 1,000 more new homes than Conservative councils.

Like this scheme here behind me in Akerman Road near Myatt’s Fields Park.

We need to continue to build more homes for people. 

The next Labour Government will remove government restrictions that stop councils building homes and begin the biggest council building programme for at least 30 years. 

We will ditch the Conservatives’ ban on long-term council tenancies to give council tenants security in their homes. 

We want more people to have a secure tenancy in a home built to high standards.

And of course, when we build more homes, we create more jobs, more apprenticeships, and put money into the local economy here in Lambeth. 

And that’s good for everyone.

I’m keen to hear your views and experiences about the housing crisis, and what we can do together to fix it.