Mr Jenrick has announced today the legal right for leaseholders to take care developers to court for “shoddy workmanship”
A few things to say
1) many leaseholders don’t have the means to sue. 2) this wouldn’t help those in buildings (like Transport House) has older than 15 yrs.
When pushed on this point by @AndrewMarr9 Jenrick said most buildings affected by cladding issues are younger than 15 years.
But *again* this isn’t only or even largely about cladding. Nearly always to listen to ministers you’d think it were.
Jenrick: “I want the developers, the builders, the warranty companies, the insurers- to pay up. I want shoddy workmanship to be paid for by people who did it not by the leaseholders.”
Everyone wants this. The point is that right now in many, many cases they are not.
Question is what (if anything) government is going to do make them. Extending right of litigation isn’t going to get very far given enormous barriers to legal action.
Jenrick said that he doesn’t want the Exchequer to pay given many taxpayers aren’t home owners and developers should instead. But the point is that the state (over decades), in overseeing a poor regime of regulation and enforcement for decades, also has culpability.
Other thing to say in terms of taxpayer exposure is a) taxpayer will find itself paying in other ways if large parts of the property market is destabilised b) the leaseholders are also taxpayers (and literally paid tax on their defective properties)
And c) many were first time buyers using shared ownership or other schemes set up by the government expressly to encourage them to do “the right thing” and get on the property ladder.
And on this there’s also the fact that it will do nothing in cases where the developer in question no longer operates/became insolvent.
And the fact that the law can be unclear in the first place. It’s not clear that even if litigation took place the leaseholders would always win. Which is precisely why the state isn’t a neutral/blameless player in all this.
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On holiday for a week but a few quick thoughts about the building safety bill- what it does do and crucially what it doesn't.
First of all in terms of space for litigation it goes further than many had expected.
Campaign groups have also cautiously welcomed the greater...
....accountability the new regulator might offer.
And reforms to building construction, incorporating recommendations made by the Hackitt review will be much welcomed.
But there are some key problems both in terms of the policy particulars and the philosophical approach.
Firstly on litigation
Extending rights on litigation for "substandard work" to 15 years (even though it's applied retrospectively) will do nothing for older buildings. Transport House, a building whose story I've reported on below, would not be covered.
In terms of what's happened in the constituency, several things were at play
1) As reported a few days ago, Labour felt its GOTV had really worked this time. 2) Leadbeater was a good candidate and respected locally. Attracted Tory support.
3) Galloway was successful at eating into Labour Muslim vote but intriguingly Labour likely did better than expected solidifying more traditional support and potential waverers. Maybe even bits of Tory vote 4) Part of that may have been Galloway himself. Those who REALLY didn't..
While we’re waiting, some by - election trivia, because, let’s face it, up you’re up you are going to enjoy it
In modern British political history there have been four full calendar years without a single by election
1992, 1998, 2010 and 2020
(These were bad years)
Winston Churchill contested no fewer than five by elections
1899-Oldham
1908-Manchester North West
1908-Dundee
1917-Dundee
1924-Westminster Abbey
Labour might think it’s having a poor run at the moment but nothing by comparison to its longest stretch without a by election gain, 18 years between the 1939 Brecon and Radnorshire by election and 1957 in Lewisham North
But not long to find out! Will be on air later this morning on the BBC News channel as the results come through. There’s absolutely no world in which you shouldn’t stay up for it, frankly
As ever for those asking, no exit poll. Only done at general elections.