Mayoral candidates wish to end homelessness

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Local Government

All of London’s mayoral candidates have pledged a ‘new drive’ to end homelessness, after a campaign by national charity for single homeless people, Crisis.

If elected, all of the candidates have vowed to tackle the problem.

London’s incumbent Boris Johnson offered: "Putting an end to rough sleeping in London is no easy task but it is one I'm determined to achieve. It is simply unimaginable that anyone should have to call the street their home in the 21st century and helping people before they become entrenched on the streets is absolutely vital.

"It is for this reason that I am delighted to sign Crisis's pledge to make it a personal priority to lead a new drive to end homelessness in London and look forward, if re-elected on 3rd May, to working with organisations such as Crisis to tackle this problem."

Former mayor Ken Livingstone said: "I am happy to support Crisis's pledge. As Mayor, I will launch a new drive to end homelessness in all its forms using all the Mayor's powers and responsibilities."

Liberal candidate Brian Paddick said: “I am committed to taking a lead on the serious issue of homelessness in London if elected and am happy to sign up to Crisis' pledge. I will seek to work closely with Crisis and all bodies committed to improving the housing provision in our city.”

Crisis Chief Executive Leslie Morphy said: "It is encouraging that the Mayoral candidates have made these commitments but what remains to be seen is whether positive words will lead to the decisive action that is desperately needed. It cannot be right that, in the twenty first century in one of the richest cities in the world, people are still left facing homelessness and there are still people sleeping on our streets. Crisis has set out five action points for tackling homelessness in London, which we will be asking the newly elected Mayor to take forward."

Figures for the start of this year show a 26% increase in rough sleeping on the same period in 2011 and a poll reveals that nearly half of Londoners see providing affordable housing as a top priority for the next Mayor.