Renters’ Rights Bill Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Baroness Hamwee
Main Page: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Hamwee's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(2 days ago)
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Lord Tope (LD)
My Lords, I added my name to Amendment 265 and, in speaking briefly on it, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, for the way she introduced both Amendment 265 and 170, which I also support, although I did not have the opportunity to add my name to that one as well.
First of all, I declare an interest a co-president of London Councils, which is the body that represents all 32 London boroughs and the City of London. I am also, inevitably, a vice-president of the Local Government Association.
I think the point has been very well made, not least by the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, and I do not want to repeat the arguments at this time of night—although I would very much like to have done so. Instead, I shall ask the Minister one thing. I hope, in a minute, she is going to say that the Government are going to take this opportunity to repeal that part of the Act and, I hope, support these amendments. If she does not, however, I say that it is widely agreed, and indeed has been agreed by a High Court judge, that the right to rent is discriminatory. Therefore, can the Minister give us any evidence that it has had any effect in actually reducing illegal migration? Has it achieved its purpose in any way? If it has not, in its 10-year life, why on earth are a Labour Government keeping it in this Bill when they have the opportunity, in this legislation, to remove something that is both ineffective and discriminatory?
Baroness Hamwee (LD)
My Lords, as my noble friend Lord Shipley might have said, and with apologies to Robert Frost:
“I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep”.
My promise was to support Amendment 265. I knew that the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, would be as thorough as ever. When she started to say the word “efficacy”, I thought it was going to turn into “ethics”—but maybe that as well.
I simply want to record my support. However, given today’s White Paper, I do so without much expectation, as has been the case so often in the past on this issue. Nevertheless, my enthusiasm for the amendment is entirely disproportionate to the time I have taken— I promised it would be within a minute, and it is.