Oldham’s Conservative Councillors opposed a proposal to ask the Government to ban s21 no fault evictions in this session of Parliament. Abolition of s21 of the Housing Act 1988 which allows landlords to evict tenants without any reason, was first promised by then PM Theresa May in the proposed Renters Reform Bill, repeated in the Conservatives 2019 Election Manifesto and outlined again in the Levelling Up White Paper under Boris Johnson. Last week, Oldham Labour included abolition of S21 in a six-point plan to tackle the Housing Crisis which Oldham’s Conservatives voted against.

Councillor Kyle Phythian, Oldham’s Housing lead who proposed the housing plan said ‘Actions speak louder than words. The Tories have repeatedly promised to abolish s21 no fault evictions but have failed nationally and locally to take any action to make this happen. A s21 eviction means that good tenants who have paid their rent and looked after their rental property can be evicted at short notice. This can make families homeless and uproots children from schools and adults from their jobs. I put forward a six-point plan to build more social homes and to protect private tenants – the Tory Opposition showed their true colours by voting against asking their government to keep its promise. Only Labour is interested in building truly affordable homes and protecting private tenants’ rights.’

The plan included asking the Government to provide help for mortgage payers who can no longer afford to pay their mortgage after interest rates rose more sharply following the Truss Government’s disastrous ‘fiscal event’ which blew a black hole in the country’s finances. The Bank of England has raised interest rates to 3%, the highest level since 2008 and by the biggest single amount (0.75%) since 1989.

Councillor Amanda Chadderton, Leader of the Council said ‘The Tories need to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Interest rates have risen higher and more quickly because of Liz Truss’s ill-judged financial experiment. Mortgage rates are following upwards. The Government must help people who can’t manage paying more for their mortgage on top of the Tories’ cost of living crisis. Changing prime ministers doesn’t deal with the day to day problems Oldham residents face. Austerity 2.0 will be a disaster for public services and all of us who rely on them. I have no idea why Oldham’s Tories voted against helping people struggling to pay mortgage increases caused by the chaos their government has inflicted on us all.’

Cllr Chadderton has written to the Chancellor demanding that there are no further cuts to Oldham’s budget as a consequence of the Tories’ mini-budget which caused the current economic crisis. Her letter concludes “Families in Oldham shouldn’t lose services and support to pay for the government’s mistakes. The Cost-of-Living Emergency is placing unprecedented demand on council services. Oldham Council is investing £3million to support affected residents. We would like to do more but over the last twelve years, successive Conservative and Liberal Democrat governments have cut Oldham’s budget by 45%. Don’t take your mistakes out on Oldham, local residents cannot afford to pay for them.”

Cllr Chadderton has separately written Cllr Graham Sheldon, Leader of the Oldham Conservative Group, asking him to back her demands. She has yet to receive a reply from either.