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14/7/25 8:13 pm
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Labour deputy leader hopeful Lucy Powell has praised the government’s approach to rental reform for “taking on some of the vested interests of landlords”.
The MP for Manchester Central, who is thought to be the frontrunner in the deputy leadership race, tells the Big Issue that the government must now make clear that it is “operating in the interests of the many and not the few” across its policies.
Powell says it’s vital that large scale landlords who aren’t providing good quality accommodation, hiking up rents, or issuing no-fault evictions just to put the rent up, are taken to task.
“That’s why the Renters’ Rights Bill is so important, and that will soon become law,” she adds. “It’s about taking on bad landlords and making it more affordable for the increasing number of people who need to live in the private rented sector and getting rid of hidden charges.
“We recognise more than any other party how important it is to have a secure, stable, affordable home. It’s the bedrock of the rest of your life. We’ve brought in the Renters’ Rights Bill to start taking on some of the vested interests of landlords.”
Powell has a lodger but denies being a landlord. The register of interest shows that she earns more than £10,000 a year from this, but this is the lowest figure MPs are able to register. Powell claims she earns far less than this but wants to declare it for “transparency” purposes.
“I don’t have a rental property in any shape or form,” she insists. “I have a lodger living with me. I declare it as though it is because I think that’s important for transparency. I share my own flat with another MP. That’s there for public record and, by the way, in doing so, I save the public purse. I pay for all of that myself.”
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