Khan: Mayoral contest will be 'referendum on London’s housing crisis'

Housing has hit the top of the agenda again on the last day of the Labour Party conference, as Labour’s London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan pledged to make homes in the capital “affordable to buy or rent”.

Speaking in Brighton, Khan said he planned to make the mayoral election in May next year “a referendum on London’s housing crisis”.

He added that previous governments had “failed” to build the homes needed and accused the Conservatives in city hall and central government of letting big developers “off the hook” on building affordable homes.

Labelling next month’s housing bill the “No Home of Your Own” bill ,Khan said he would oppose it as it would be a disaster for London, forcing councils to sell off the last remaining affordable homes in the city and added that there was “no guarantee that they won’t be sold to foreign investors”.

Outlining his plans to solve the crisis in London Khan discussed setting up a team of experts at City Hall - Homes for Londoners – to plan, fund and develop new homes and providing Londoners with “first dibs” on new builds.

He vowed to make Labour the party of homeowners, stand up to the developers and “insist” that half of all new homes are genuinely affordable and to bring in a London living rent.

Khan added though that London needed more powers over housing, skills, jobs, health and crime as well as more funding to give it responsibility over its future.