23 May 2024
General election 2024: Getting housing heard
We knew it was coming. We just didn’t know when.
Yes, after months of speculation and rumour, the starting gun has officially been fired on the general election. And while it remains to be seen if Rishi Sunak has shot himself in the foot or nailed a direct hit on Labour’s Kier Starmer, what is certain is that housing will feature prominently in election discourse.
We’ve already seen how, over recent months, housing has built a growing presence within the political debate. Michael Gove has made it his mission to reshape the way in which social landlords operate, while one of Labour’s most senior figures, deputy leader Angela Rayner, now presides over the housing brief. Most recently, we saw how housing played a notable role in the recent local elections, with issues such as rising rents and long social housing waiting lists being talked about up and down the country.
Granted, much of this attention has come because of the worsening housing crisis and the myriad issues encompassed within it. But it’s also been won through tireless campaigning from the likes of CIH and its members, many of whom understand the importance of getting politicians from all sides to recognise housing issues and to engage in the debate.
Gavin Smart, chief executive of CIH, shared his reaction to the general election announcement and spoke of the need for the sector to keep its foot on the gas to get housing as high up the political agenda as possible.
He said: "The announcement of a 4 July general election provides an opportunity to place housing at the centre of the public discourse.
“As we outlined in our 10-point plan for housing, there is a blueprint for a new government to adopt that will help to address the housing crisis.
“Over the coming weeks, CIH will continue to make the case for a housing system that works for all."
General election member toolkit
In the run up to the general election, the CIH wants members to feel supported to influence decision-makers about the important role that housing plays. We’ve developed a set of resources to help facilitate this, which we'll be adding to over the coming weeks.
The toolkit already includes a wealth of information and insight, which you can use to amplify our message to all political parties that housing must be a political priority.
These include:
- CIH’s 10-point plan for housing
- CIH’s strategy for housing
- A webinar series on how to talk about homes and housing issues
- A summary on CIH’s policy lines in England.
Explore the full set of resources here.
What’s next
Over the next six weeks, CIH and its partners will be working together to push housing as close as possible to the centre of the political debate.
Follow and engage with us on our social media channels to help grow our collective voice and get your housing concerns heard:
Image: Mistervlad/Shutterstock
Liam Turner is the CIH's digital editor.
