Strip landlords of homes if they leave them empty, wannabe Labour leader Emily Thornberry demands

LANDLORDS should be STRIPPED of their homes if they leave them empty, wannabe Labour leader Emily Thornberry has demanded. The Shadow Foreign Secretary said landlords who let homes sit vacant must be harshly punished. Speaking at a Bristol hustings event in the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn, she said: “You’re not allowed to buy a […]

LANDLORDS should be STRIPPED of their homes if they leave them empty, wannabe Labour leader Emily Thornberry has demanded.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary said landlords who let homes sit vacant must be harshly punished.

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Speaking at a Bristol hustings event in the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn, she said: “You’re not allowed to buy a flat in Bristol as an investment and keep it empty.

“If you keep it empty, you lose it.”

The Labour MP said we need a “bigger stick” to put people off doing it and backed the radical idea to seize assets back.

The UK risks losing a “whole generation” of people behind as so many can’t afford to buy a home, she argued.

She added: “We need to build more homes… and we need to do it by way of carrot and stick.”

Ms Thornberry is the only one of the leadership contenders who hasn’t yet made it onto the ballot paper to go to members – because she hasn’t got the support needed.

Last week she was blasted after praising the Labour boss for “always calling out racism”.

It comes despite Labour facing a series of antisemitism accusations under Mr Corbyn, as well as an investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Millionaire Remainer Sir Keir Starmer is the current favourite to win, but Corbyn ally Rebecca Long Bailey is also popular among members.

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy is also still in the running.

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Yesterday she demanded “empire” be removed from OBE honours as it offends people.

She said the move would ensure a more inclusive society rather than “alienating” people from BAME backgrounds.

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