MP's Plan For Homeless To Grow Their Own Food

Homeless people will get the chance to grow their own food on a city allotment if a plan by a Derby MP gets support. Amanda Solloway has put forward her City Growing Project where the community will work together to grow food. Those who cannot pay will get it for free and other people will receive items in return for a donation. Mrs Solloway said she wants Derby to be known as a "city of compassion" in 2017. She said: "I would hope there would also be provision for cooking, shower and storage facilities on site and her plan includes professional cookery lessons and gardening lessons, with the possibility of qualifications." Read more on the Derby Telegraph website.

Tory MP Said He’d Rather Have Golf Courses Than Affordable Housing

In a televised interview, Conservative MP Nigel Evans revealed that, instead of housing, he would rather see golf resorts built on green spaces. in an interview with RT UK‘s News Thing Evans proposes his ludicrous plan. When host Sam Delaney jokingly asks if the reason Evans wants Trump to come to the Ribble Valley is so that he can “turn the whole bloody thing into a golf course”, Evans responds: “I tell you what, we’ve got a lot of green space there. I’d rather those be turned into golf courses than some of the housing estates that keep being put up there.” When Delaney responds with surprise and asks “haven’t we got a housing crisis?”, Evans replies: “In the Ribble Valley we haven’t.” Read more on the Canary.

Prime Minister Grilled Over Tory MP Richard Benyon's 'Social Cleansing'

David Cameron was grilled over the Tory MP landlord in a rent hike row. The PM was put on the spot after the Mirror revealed how dozens of poor families face possible eviction after Richard Benyon’s estate took a stake in their homes. His £110million family firm is part of a consortium planning a rent rise that could triple bills on an estate in Hackney, East London.  Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn said it was “social cleansing”. Diane Abbott asked if it was the PM’s “idea of compassionate conservatism”. Mr Cameron refused to back his MP but blustered: “We all know that we need to see more houses being built. We have seen 41,000 affordable starts over the last year and more than a fifth of those have been in London.” Read more on the Daily Mirror website.

Families Face Eviction after Richest MP Buys Housing Estate and Hikes up Rent

Devastated families are facing being evicted after the inherited estate of Britain’s richest MP bought a stake in their homes. Tory Richard Benyon’s £110million family firm is part of a consortium that snapped up the housing estate and announced plans for a massive rent hike. Up to 90 households in East London fear the Benyons’ plan to charge “market rents” will treble their bills. The New Era Estate, in Hoxton, has a long history of providing affordable housing and has been home to some people for 70 years.  The Benyons have already hiked rents by 10% this year. Read more on the Daily Mirror website.

Richest MP in Britain Makes £625k a Year in Housing Benefit

Tory MP Richard Benyon – Britain’s richest MP worth £110million - is raking in £625,000 a year from his hard-up tenants’ housing benefit – despite blasting the “something for nothing” welfare state. But last night he was accused of cashing in off the back of the very handouts his party pledged to slash – as it emerged a string of other Tories were doing the same. Just last month the MP, 53, said: “The average household spends £3,000 per year on the welfare state. This figure had been rising inexorably and unaffordably.”  He is a director of the Englefield Estate Trust Corporation Limited, which owns most of the land and property linked to his family. It got £625,964 in housing benefit from West Berkshire council last year, more than any other private landlord in the area. Read more on the Daily Mirror website.

MP Calls for Rural Communities to Be Freed From Bedroom Tax

A Conservative MP has called on the government to make small rural communities exempt from the bedroom tax. Anne McIntosh, MP for Thirsk and Malton and chair of the House of Commons environment, food and rural affairs select committee, said a "chronic shortage" of one and two-bedroom homes in her north east constituency made it difficult for people to downsize. Referring to a recent report published by the committee, Miss McIntosh said: "We recommended that small rural communities should be exempt from the bedroom tax.  In my area, there is a chronic shortage of one and two-bedroom homes. Until such a time as we can rehouse those who wish to downsize, allowing larger families to move into larger properties, housing will remain a problem.” Read more on 24dash.

ALMO Offers Landlords Cash Reward For Finding MP A Home

A London-based ALMO managing social homes on behalf of Westminster City Council is offering landlords a £150 reward for finding a flat for an MP. The move has been attacked by Labour councillors in the borough who have questioned the priority of the social landlord arguing that it should be “building more social housing for Westminster's low income families and not looking for expensive homes for homeless Members of Parliament”. The appeal has come from the ALMO’s private lettings arm – set up in 2009 to let properties in Westminster within the private sector to "professional tenants, companies and students".  It has previously been attacked by Labour councillors for marketing ex-council homes for more than £450,000 and advertising them for rent at three times the level they would have been had they remained under local authority control.  Read more on 24dash.