Paice fails to back council house spending

8.09.16pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 7th Apr 2008

While thirty Labour MPs including five former ministers voted with Liberal Democrat MPs for more money for council house building and repair in the Housing and Regeneration Bill debate local MP Jim Paice and other Conservative MPs sat on their hands.

Despite one of the biggest revolts of Labour MPs since Gordon Brown became prime minister the Conservatives' action ensured the call for more money to "acquire, rehabilitate, and build" more council homes failed.

Jonathan Chatfield the Lib Dem's parliamentary spokesperson for South East Cambridgeshire responded:

"We are constantly hearing from the Tory controlled local councils that the Government isn't giving them enough money to keep social housing under council control.

"Yet when it came to doing something about giving councils the funds they need to provide decent and sufficient homes to meet the growing housing crisis their MPs including our local MP refused to tackle the Government on this issue.

"It is clear that the Tories have a hidden agenda here and are just as keen on forcing tenants out of council homes as Labour are and their councillors are just crying crocodile tears.

"In the debate former Labour Minister Michael Meacher supported our view that without council housing being developed we won't be able to meet the need for social housing in the future."