Homes for Wales coalition holds Day of Action ahead of #GE2017

Homes for Wales partners and members will take part in a Day of Action on Wednesday 31 May to raise awareness of the coalition’s two calls for Westminster candidates.

The Homes for Wales coalition was relaunched ahead of June’s General Election, following a successful campaign during the 2016 Assembly Election to raise devolved housing issues up the political agenda. The Homes for Wales General Election 2017 campaign will focus on two issues central to Welsh tenants and landlords which are controlled from Westminster.

On the Day of Action, Homes for Wales coalition partners and supporters will call on General Election candidates in their area to:

support a welfare system that ensures everyone can access an affordable home
support the construction industry so it can access the materials and labour it needs to build affordable homes

Partners and supporters are being encouraged to tweet their PPCs or contact them on Facebook to make them aware of local and national issues; to invite candidates to visit their schemes and projects; and to raise awareness and secure support for the coalition’s main asks of the next UK Government. Supporters can also tweet their support directly from the Homes for Wales website.

Chief Executive of Community Housing Cymru, Stuart Ropke said: “Since last year’s Assembly elections, the Welsh Government has committed to building 20,000 affordable homes in this Assembly term and brought legislation forward to end the Right to Buy, but our focus now is on Westminster.

“The decision to leave the European Union is the lens through which this General Election on 8 June is being viewed, and we want to ensure that the Homes for Wales coalition’s voice is heard. Although housing is devolved to Cardiff Bay, decisions at Westminster still influence the housing policy environment here in Wales. This is why the coalition is calling for the next UK Government to support a fair welfare system and to support the construction industry. We’re working towards a target of 20,000 affordable homes by 2021, and we want to focus on building the economy after Brexit.”

Homes for Wales coalition partners this year include: Residential Landlords’ Association (RLA), Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Cymru, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), Federation of Master Builders, and the Home Builders Federation.