The Conservatives first promised to enact a ban on Section 21 evictions, also known as ‘no-fault’ evictions, in 2019. After years of delays, the Renters Reform Bill was eventually shelved this year when the election was called. Studies have found that a failure to end no-fault evictions put more than 80,000 households at risk of homelessness in five years.
Campaigners have said change on this issue “can’t come soon enough”, and many are hoping for an end to no-fault evictions once and for all, along with other crucial rental reforms.
“After recent commitments from Labour to abolish no-fault evictions ‘immediately’, we hope to see a bill to achieve this confirmed in the King’s Speech,” Tom Darling, campaign manager for Renters’ Reform Coalition, told the Big Issue.
“Change can’t come soon enough – with soaring rents and record levels of homelessness, renting in England is in a state of genuine crisis.”
He added that new legislation “must provide renters with genuine security in their homes”.
“That means tackling the power imbalance at the heart of our broken renting system, and closing loopholes in the previous Renters Reform Bill which would have allowed no-fault evictions to continue by the backdoor.
“Labour have said they will ‘decisively’ rebalance the private rented sector in favour of tenants – we’ll be judging any legislation against those words.”
Increase benefits to tackle poverty
As the cost of living crisis continues to grind on, studies have found that around 14.4 million people were living in poverty in 2021/2022 in the UK, which includes 4.2 million children.
Campaigners have called for an Essentials Guarantee, which would ensure that everyone on universal credit has the basics they need to live, as well as an end to the two-child benefit cap.
Sabine Goodwin, director of the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN), said: “Over 14 years, our social security system has been reduced to tatters, the impact of low wages and insecure work ignored, and a worsening housing crisis overlooked.
“As a result, more and more people have fallen into poverty and destitution, there’s been a meteoric rise in food bank use, and wider food insecurity has soared.”
Goodwin added that it is “critical” for the King’s Speech to “prioritise immediate actions to reduce poverty”, which includes “the adoption of an Essential Guarantee, the extension of the household support fund in England, the removal of the two-child limit and the abandonment of the sanctions regime.”
End LGBTQ+ conversion therapy
In 2018, then-prime minister Theresa May pledged to ban conversion therapy, the cruel and discredited practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Boris Johnson later reiterated the pledge, however rolled back on including trans people within the conversion therapy ban. While time ran out for the Tories to introduce an inclusive ban on conversion therapy, Labour pledged to end the practice in its manifesto.
Jayne Ozanne, founder of the anti-discrimination charity the Ozanne Foundation and survivor of conversion therapy, claimed “the whole LGBTQ+ community is watching to see if [Labour] will fulfil its promise” to ban the practice, which she says causes “significant harm”.
“The bottom line is, Labour has constantly chastised the Conservatives for delaying a ban on conversion therapy, and so having made a manifesto commitment, I fully expect to see them act on this without delay, and I expect to see a fully inclusive ban as promised in the King’s Speech on Wednesday,” Ozanne told Big Issue – adding that the party’s manifesto pledge is for a “fully inclusive ban”, which she expects will protect trans people.
A renewed focus on the environment
Campaigners have called for a renewed focus on protecting the environment, from delivering on Labour’s promise to nationalise the railways to committing to reaching net-zero targets.
Anna Hughes, director of environmental campaign group Flight Free UK, told Big Issue: “It’s good to see that railways will be nationalised within five years. More efficient and reliable trains, run for customers rather than shareholders, is a key part of encouraging people out of planes and onto trains for domestic journeys.
“However, the Labour Party manifesto states clearly that it supports the continued growth of the aviation industry, which is not compatible with reaching net-zero targets, or avoiding the worst effects of climate change.
“Much more attention needs to be paid to the climate crisis, its causes and solutions.”
CEO of River Action James Wallace called on the government to take action to “clean up rivers.”
“Labour promised [this] as a manifesto priority. This promise included putting failing water companies under special measures, banning bonuses for polluting water company bosses; and using the full force of the law to bring criminal charges against persistent polluters who put profit before the health of rivers and river users,” he said.
“The Government must also reform Ofwat – perceived by many as a captured regulator – to ensure that people and the environment are prioritised over investors; and of the Environment Agency to ensure increased water quality monitoring and more meaningful fines of polluters.”
Implement a fairer immigration system
With the Labour government immediately moving to scrap the Conservative’s controversial Rwanda deportation scheme, campaigners are hoping for fairer and more just immigration legislation.
“The government has been left with a grim legacy of hostile laws such as the Illegal Migration Act and Nationality and Borders Act, which tore up the right to seek safety and left the asylum system in tatters,” Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive of Refugee Action, explained to Big Issue.
“New legislation must repeal these acts, return the fundamental right to claim asylum, and introduce new routes for refugees to reach the UK so they do not have to put their lives in the hands of people smugglers.”
He added that asylum must be “grounded in human rights and racial justice rather than hostility and securitisation”, and that the UK must become a nation of “sanctuary” for refugees.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, added that action is needed to “counter this exploitation of often extremely traumatised and vulnerable people” rather than more efforts to block migration numbers.
“The UK government should work with other countries to create safe, accessible and reliable asylum systems – including in the UK – so that this country takes its share of responsibility in guaranteeing the right of refugees to seek safety and get it,” he said.
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