It has now almost become a cliché to say that we need to build more houses.

Housing is the biggest issue and it’s the one that comes up the most when Harrow Borough Council candidates are out canvassing.

Everybody is concerned about housing: whether it’s mortgage payments, housing benefit being slashed, rents that are so high young people can’t move out of home, or landlords who refuse to sort out broken appliances and issues like damp and mould.

That’s why Labour is pledging to build more affordable homes by restarting a council house building programme, as well as tackling rogue landlords by looking into the full licensing of all homes in the private sector.

These policies are not about winning votes; we have made these pledges because the Harrow Labour group believes that everyone deserves an affordable and decent home to live in.

Kiran Ramchandani

Labour candidate for Queensbury for Harrow Borough Council