On Christmas Day, Euston, one of the largest mainline stations in central London, played host to a Christmas lunch for around 200 homeless people, with food, drink and even vets on hand for those eating to bring their dogs. The event was organised by charities and Network Rail, the company responsible for maintaining Britain’s rail lines. While it was welcomed up and down the country, it was a powerful reminder of Britain’s rising homelessness crisis.
According to a report by a group of MPs published earlier this month, the extent of homelessness in England had reached the proportions of a “national crisis”, with over 9,000 people sleeping on streets, and more than 78,000 households, including over 1,20,000 children, in temporary accommodation. The MPs warned that the number could be higher, with many in shifting circumstances not captured by the official figures.
The crisis has accelerated in recent years. In the past six years alone, the number of people sleeping on the streets of Britain has risen by 134%, while in the past seven years, the number of people in temporary accommodation has risen by over 60%. Criticising the government’s “unacceptably complacent attitude”, the MPs warned it had taken a “light-touch” approach to working with local governments, and had failed to address the roots of the problem: the nation’s shortage in supply of affordable, decent housing. In a report also published this year, Britain’s National Audit Office highlighted a number of factors that had contributed to the increase of homeless people, including the rising cost of private-rented accommodation that had increased at thrice the rate of earnings since 2010. In London, the rate has risen eight times faster. Changes to welfare benefits have also added to the problem.
Horrors of Grenfell
Britain’s housing crisis was thrown into sharp relief earlier this year when the horrors of the fire at Grenfell Tower in the affluent neighbourhood of Notting Hill were broadcast across the world. While an inquiry into its causes is still ongoing, the Labour Party was swift to point to the government’s austerity agenda, including the cost-cutting employed by local governments when it came to social housing. While in the aftermath of the tragedy, the government pledged to rehouse those who lost their homes in the fire within three weeks, it emerged in November that the majority of families continued to live in temporary accommodation.
In the final Prime Minister’s Question of the year, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on Prime Minister Theresa May to take urgent action. “The sad reality is that one in every 100 children in this country is homeless at any one time. That is a national disgrace, and it is getting worse,” he said. The government has maintained that it is already pumping in hundreds of millions of pounds to tackle the problem. Still, charities have warned more steps are needed to tackle the root causes.
Others such as John Bird, the founder of the Big Issue, a magazine sold by homeless people, have warned that the crisis is inextricably linked to other issues such as tackling mental health support — the lack of which he argues has exacerbated the situation. The Labour Party has pushed for rent control measures – something that has been brought in in cities across the world, in the face of rising cost pressure, though the proposals have received a lukewarm response from charities that have warned it could lead to further problems such as the sale of properties by landlords.
Vidya Ram works for The Hindu and is based in London
