Today Labour launched its Make Homes Safe campaign to keep high-rise residents safe by funding the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all social housing tower blocks.
The Grenfell Tower fire was a national tragedy and demands a national response from Government to make sure it can never happen again.
Two separate coroners’ reports released in 2013 into fatal high rise fires at Lakanal House and Shirley Towers recommend that sprinklers be fitted into social housing blocks, but recent research has revealed that just 2% of the UK’s council and housing association tower blocks have sprinkler systems.
In 2007 Labour made it compulsory for all new high-rise blocks to have sprinklers fitted, Labour is now calling on the Government to set aside £1bn to fund the same safety protections for residents in existing blocks. The retrofitting of sprinklers in all council and housing association tower blocks, starting with those 30m (ten storeys) or higher, will ensure that:
- No resident lives in a high-rise block without the added safety of sprinklers
- No council or housing association cannot do this vital work because they lack the funds
- No residents lose out on other important maintenance works or badly needed new house-building because funds are being diverted to fit sprinklers
Sign up to the campaign
Whether it's fighting to end the public sector pay cap, keep the ban on fox hunting, or lower the voting age to 16: we are always campaigning to create a more fair and equal society.
You can find out more about the Make Homes Safe campaign, and how to sign up to offer your support here: https://labour.org.uk/issues/campaigns/
What do you think?
We want you to get involved and help build on our manifesto pledges. By posting on our website you can give your ideas around safer housing and fire prevention, share your experiences, or submit a new policy idea that you think should be addressed.
Join the discussion on Labour’s housing policy here: https://www.policyforum.labour.org.uk/commissions/housing-transport
Find out how to make a submission here: https://www.policyforum.labour.org.uk/about/get-involved
Find out more on Labour’s policy here: http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php/manifesto2017
