Prime Minister agrees to Ministerial meeting with Cornish MPs to address Cornwall’s housing emergency  

Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has agreed to set up a meeting with his Housing Minister Rt Hon Matthew Pennycook MP and Andrew George MP and his fellow Cornish MPs address Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s housing emergency. This follows a question in the Commons, by Andrew George, today. Mr George said that:  

“In Cornwall, in the last 10 years, over £500m has been handed to holiday home owners through various tax loopholes etc, whilst local families are being evicted from their homes to make way for yet more holiday homes as the housing crisis deepens and worsens. The six MPs in Cornwall are determined to reverse this situation and to address these issues before the end of this parliament.   

“Will the Prime Minister agree to meet us so we get the full backing of government, and deliver first rather than second homes for the good of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.”  

The Prime Minister said in response: “I thank him for raising this. We are committed to building those 1.5 million homes, and that includes 4,500 new homes every year in Cornwall. But I do recognise the point he makes, which is that excessive concentrations of short term lets and second homes in places like Cornwall can impact the availability and affordability of homes. That’s why we’ll enable councils to charge a premium on the council tax bills of second homes, abolish the furnished homes let regime, and introduce a registration scheme for short term lets. But I am happy to make sure that he and his Cornish colleagues do get the meeting they want with the housing minister to discuss that further.” 

Mr George said afterwards, “I’m pleased to have had the opportunity to highlight Cornwall & Scilly’s severe housing problems in prime time, and that the Prime Minister has agreed to this meeting. It’s important we secure a national focus on Cornwall and Scilly’s severe housing emergency, and the shocking injustice which contributes to the problems experienced by thousands of families across Cornwall. Achieving measurable success for local people is possible, but we need more government support.”