Before you vote: what do they say about Gypsies and Travellers?

With thanks to COMMUNITY LAW PARTNERSHIP

On the surface of it, only one of the major parties running at tomorrow’s General Election mentions Gypsies and Travellers at all- and that's the Green Party. But between the lines, their manifestos tell us a lot about how they would deal with issues that affect Gypsies and Travellers in a big way- including housing, planning and Legal Aid.

The Gypsy and Traveller law experts at Community Law Partnership have looked in detail at the parties’ manifestos, and picked out the bits that are most likely to affect Gypsies and Travellers. So before you cast your vote tomorrow, let’s have a look at what they are, in brief.

 

THE LABOUR PARTY

Labour’s manifesto says they “will abolish” the Bedroom Tax. They claim they’ll make 3-year tenancies the norm for private renters, cap rent rises and ban “unfair letting agent fees”. They say they’ll tackle the causes of homelessness- but they don’t say how they’ll do it.

Labour say they want to keep the Human Rights Act, but they do want to reform the European Court of Human Rights- again, they just don’t say how they’ll actually do it.

They mention Legal Aid, and say it should still be there “for those who need it”. But that’s all- there is no mention of going back on the cuts made by the Coalition.

There is no mention at all of Gypsies and Travellers in Labour’s manifesto.

 

THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY

The Conservatives say they’ll “increase protection” of the Green Belt and important green spaces. What they don’t say is that it appears they intend to build a lot of the new housing required in the Green Belt. Nor do they mention that Eric Pickles’s anti-Gypsy and Traveller Green Belt policy broke the law.

The Conservatives want to end automatic entitlement to Housing Benefit for 18-21 year olds who claim it “in order to leave home”, even if they’re trying to escape from abuse.

Their manifesto says they “will extend the right to buy to tenants in Housing Associations to enable more people to buy a home of their own” even though there is a social housing crisis.

The Conservatives say they will “continue to review our Legal Aid systems”, which has to be seen against the huge cuts they have already made to Legal Aid. They don’t mention their other anti-Traveller measures, such as slashing the budget for sites and the Traveller Education Service. Or their plans to change the legal definition of a "gypsy" so the elderly and sick cannot be classed legally as "gypsies".

There is no mention of Gypsies and Travellers at all in the Conservatives’ manifesto.

 

THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

The Lib Dems say they will protect against rogue landlords, and encourage a new multi-year tenancy with rent rises linked to inflation.  They say they’ll ban letting agent fees if they can’t make them affordable, help people living in poor housing to claim their rent back from landlords, and introduce a Help To Rent scheme for people who can’t afford a deposit.

They say they’ll “protect the Human Rights Act” and “enshrine the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in UK law.”

The Lib Dems say they won’t make further cuts to Legal Aid, and want to make sure it’s still available “for those that need it”- but this is after overseeing some of the most devastating cuts to Legal Aid since it was introduced in 1948.

 

UKIP

UKIP say they will scrap the Bedroom Tax, keep Housing Benefit for under 25s, and give tenants the right to ask for Housing Benefit to go straight to their landlords. They want a National Homeless Register “to make it easier for those of no fixed abode” to get welfare, healthcare and social care.

They also say they’ll prioritise housing for “people with strong local connections”. They want to stop foreign nationals from getting access to social housing until they have lived and paid tax in the UK for 5 years. These proposals are likely to fall foul of current anti-discrimination laws in the UK, as well as EU freedom of movement laws, say the Community Law Partnership.

UKIP want to take the UK out of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights, repeal the Human Rights Act (which has been an essential defense for many Gypsies and Travellers in court), and bring in a UK Bill of Rights.

There is no mention of Legal Aid and no mention of Gypsies and Travellers in UKIP’s manifesto.

 

THE GREEN PARTY

The Greens say they’ll increase the social housing budget from £1.5 billion to £6 billion a year by 2020.  They want to build 500,000 new socially rented homes  and “end mass council house sales and Right To Buy at a discounted price”.

They also say they’ll improve rights for homeless people and end homelessness altogether. They want to “reform the private rented sector” with 5-year fixed tenancy agreements, abolish letting agents’ fees, and bring in not-for-profit letting agencies. They say they’ll abolish the ‘Bedroom Tax’.

With planning applications, the Greens say they’ll restrict the right to appeal only when there has been an error in the planning process, which would mean many people wouldn’t be able to appeal against an unfair decision.

The Greens say they will “restore cuts to Legal Aid”, which would cost £700 million a year. They don’t say where the money will come from.

Unlike the other parties, the Greens say they will “strengthen Travellers’ rights to sites and guarantee proper protection of the nomadic lifestyle of Travellers while ensuring the lifestyle of the settled population is also protected”.

 

PLAID CYMRU – THE NATIONAL PARTY OF WALES

Plaid Cymru say they’ll “strengthen tenants’ rights” and “ensure landlord regulations provide a fair service to tenants and landlords”. They want to tackle homelessness by giving people a 12 month minimum private tenancy following homelessness, and “phase out priority need and intentionality within the support system” so that all people can be helped.

They fully support the Human Rights Act and the European Convention of Human Rights, and “will oppose any moves by a UK Government to withdraw from those”.

Plaid say they will “reverse Legal Aid reforms” to allow fair access to justice and will monitor its implementation.

There is no mention of Gypsies and Travellers in Plaid Cymru’s manifesto.

 

THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY

The SNP want to “vote for the immediate abolition of the unfair Bedroom Tax”.

They will not support attempts to restrict housing benefit for 18 to 21 year olds.

They say they will oppose scrapping the Human Rights Act and withdrawing from the European Convention on Human rights.

There is no mention of Legal Aid, and no mention of Gypsies and Travellers in the SNP’s manifesto.