Council candidates and community volunteers engaged in a passionate debate about the increase in homelessness at a Mind in Harrow hustings event.

Housing – a key policy battleground in the 2018 local elections – took centre stage midway through the evening when Cllr Sachin Shah was questioned about the council’s approach to affordable properties.

It was pointed out that the Labour administration has built just a handful of affordable homes during its last four years in power, while many Harrow residents struggle to get by.

The council leader responded by highlighting that, in his view, it has been a positive start that lays the foundations to battle back against austerity.

“Homelessness has increased as cuts to housing benefits from central government mean that you can no longer get access to affordable rents,” he said.

“We need more council homes and a Labour council, and a Labour government, would build more council homes.”

But Cllr Norman Stevenson said the level of affordable housing put forward by the latest administration has been “well short of what it should be”.

He agreed that money would be the decisive factor in tackling the housing crisis but suggested that poor management had led to this situation.

Mark Baker, who is looking to represent the Green Party in the next council, also believes that the way to solve homelessness is to build more homes.

He added that a “land tax” should be implemented to “tax those who want to use homes as nothing more than an investment”.

Those taking part in the hustings, which included Independent candidate Niamh McEnery and Liberal Democrat candidate Paolo Arrigo, agreed that there is a clear link between homelessness and poor mental health.  

Some argued that this should override any party politics and tit-for-tat arguments about who has done, or who has not done, what.

It was also suggested that council homes should not be rushed through, or built on the cheap, as everyone has the right to a decent place to live and raise a family.  

But as Cllr Stevenson noted: “Housing is absolutely key – but there is no easy solution.”