Labour Party urged to adopt rent controls in King's Speech

Since the local elections, the key political question in the UK has been, ‘When will the Labour leader go?’. Notably, that’s when, not if, because let’s face it, the writing has been on the wall for Keir Starmer for some time now.

While Labour has obsessed over itself, the Green Party has been working to get things done. In aid of this, the Green’s new mayors and MP Carla Denyer have put the following to the government:

Our mayoral, council and Senedd campaigns were rooted in fighting to end the housing affordability crisis, and voters have spoken. We need action to end rip-off rents now.

So newly elected Green Mayors @ZoeGarbett and @LiamShrivastava alongside Carla Denyer MP have written to… pic.twitter.com/B7l9WF7YVu

— The Green Party (@TheGreenParty) May 12, 2026

Labour, ‘This scandal has to end’

The above letter is addressed to Steve Reed. Although Reed is the housing minister, you may be more familiar with his campaign to smear Green Party activists and politicians.

In their letter, they ask Reed to actually get on with his job and deliver for ordinary renters. It reads (emphasis added):

We are writing to you as newly elected Green Mayors, alongside Carla Denyer MP and on behalf of every newly elected and sitting Green Councillor, to request that you take urgent action to end rip-off rents, and include a Rent Controls Bill in the King’s Speech this week.

Spiralling rents are ripping the heart out of our communities. People are being forced to cut back on essentials just to afford a roof over their heads. Young people are being priced out of the areas they grew up in, with schools in London closing as families are pushed out of the city. Teachers, nurses and careworkers cannot afford to live in the boroughs they work in. Renters across the UK now pay on average a third of their wages on rent, the highest level on record.

But whilst renters get poorer, wealth is being funnelled straight into landlords’ pockets. As you will be aware, the government is set to transfer £70 billion to private landlords through housing support between 2024-28. That is six times the amount of money that was spent on affordable homes over the past five years. Housing has become a way to make money, rather than a universal right.

This scandal has to end. If we had frozen rents four years ago, households in Britain would now be saving over £3,300 per year on average.

It’s time to get serious

The letter continues:

The Green Party’s success last week shows that the country is desperate for an urgent and transformative programme to end rip-off Britain, and are angry that your government has failed to deliver. Our mayoral, council and Senedd campaigns were rooted in fighting to end the housing affordability crisis, and voters have spoken.

Keir Starmer has said that a break with the status quo is needed. The King’s Speech is your opportunity to do this by getting behind the Green Party’s longstanding demands for crucial measures to make life affordable for all, starting with rent controls. With food and energy costs set to sky-rocket as a result of the illegal war on Iran, it has never been more critical.

If your government is in any way serious about improving the lives of the 11 million private renters in England, you must commit to introducing rent controls now.

Keir Starmer himself said the status quo cannot stand in his make-or-break speech on Monday, but at this point, we’ve heard it all before.

Starmer in 2020: "We cannot go back to business as usual after this"

Starmer now: ".. every single time in the past we've simply tried to get back to a status quo that didn't work, we can't do the same again"

The same line, 6 years apart. He wants to fool us twice. https://t.co/aieAKqyj4B pic.twitter.com/MsRDJfakyS

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 11, 2026

Is change on the horizon?

In the lead up to the local elections, Labour made it clear that the party wouldn’t introduce rent controls. The question is whether the local elections have taught Starmer’s government anything, or whether status quo policies remain the politics of choice.

Featured image via the Canary