Skip to main content
Advertise Buy the paper Contact us Shop Subscribe Support us
SNP has fuelled Scotland's housing crisis, Scottish Labour say

SCOTTISH Labour slammed the SNP’s “catastrophic” record today, accusing it of having “fuelled” Scotland’s growing housing crisis.

The party will use a Holyrood debate on Wednesday to call for them to “take responsibility” for the crisis and sack SNP Housing Minister Paul McLennan.

Official figures released last week painted a picture of housebuilding in “collapse” and soaring homelessness.

The SNP Scottish government’s own data revealed that a record 10,110 children lived in temporary accommodation in 2023-24.

About 16,330 households were housed in B&Bs as overall homelessness soared to 33,619 households — while council and housing association new builds fell by a quarter, and housebuilding overall dropped by 17 per cent.

Nine Scottish local authorities have declared a housing emergency over the last year — including Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow — followed by a national declaration from the Scottish government at the second time of asking.

But the SNP administration slashed funding for affordable homes by £200m in its last budget round, an act Labour argues has “fuelled this crisis.”

Ahead of Wednesday’s debate, Scottish Labour housing spokesman Mark Griffin said: “The SNP’s record on housing is one of abject failure and the most vulnerable people in Scotland are paying the price.

“The SNP has admitted there is a housing emergency, but its actions have only fuelled this crisis.”

Despite housing being entirely devolved for 25 years, the Scottish government said: “We continue to do everything we can to improve the supply of affordable housing — but truly tackling the housing emergency requires a joint approach between UK, Scottish and local government and housing providers.”

Support theMorning Star
You have no more articles to read.
Subscribe to read more.
Become a subscriber
More from this author
Britain / 28 November 2024
28 November 2024
Britain / 25 November 2024
25 November 2024
Similar stories
Britain / 5 November 2024
5 November 2024
Britain / 2 October 2024
2 October 2024
Britain / 24 September 2024
24 September 2024
Scottish Labour accuses SNP of ‘catastrophic failures’ in government