Conservative MP Lee Anderson has criticised a group of “idiots” for anti-social behaviour in his constituency, blaming social housing tenants for causing problems on a local estate.
The Tory MP for Ashfield called on the government to make it easier for local authorities to evict “nuisance” tenants.
“The residents of the Carsic estate in Ashfield are fed up with the handful of local idiots who are the source of the vast majority of anti-social behaviour, and this is happening all over the country,” he told the Commons on Thursday.
“The majority of these nuisances are social housing tenants who show no respect to the vast majority of decent hard-working tenants who are being let down by a system that makes it very difficult to evict nuisance tenants.”
Mr Anderson said he wanted police forces, councils and the courts to be greater eviction powers to allow “decent people” a more peaceful life.
Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said “all of us as constituency MPs deal with this issue” in his reply –but said existing law allowed local agencies to respond to anti-social behaviour.
The cabinet minister went on: “Social landlords are required by the regulator on social housing to work in partnership with other agencies to prevent and tackle antisocial behaviour in the neighbourhoods where they own homes.”
However, the government is set to cut the notice period landlords have to give all types of tenants before evicting them – rolling back some of the protections it introduced during the Covid pandemic.
Councils and tenants unions have warned of a possible surge in homelessness over the summer, with a ban on bailiff-enforced evictions also set to end this month.
It comes as Boris Johnson faces a rebellion among backbench Tory MPs over the controversial Planning Bill in this week’s Queen’s Speech.
The prime minister has been warned of a “blue wall collapse” in the leafy south of England if he pushes on with the overhaul in regulations aimed at establishing “growth zones” for new development.
Meanwhile, housing campaigners Grenfell United group accused the government of “betrayal” over the failure to bring forward reforms to protect social housing tenants.
Grenfell United, a group of survivors and bereaved relatives from the tower block fire of 2017, said they felt “deeply let down” that the social housing white paper was not in the Queen’s Speech.
The group stated: “[Ministers]’ priorities are for landlords and developers, evidenced by the inclusion of the Planning Bill. This is a betrayal of the legacy we are so committed to achieve.”
