Meeting of the Parliament 30 September 2025
After that lively contribution from the other side of the chamber, I wish to begin on a point of consensus, by acknowledging the considerable cross-party support for the bill that we have managed to foster. We ought to be proud of that, as that has not always been the case. We have been on a journey with certain aspects of the bill. Recently, though, when I have been speaking to housing stakeholders, among the many things that they have regularly remarked to me is how pleased they are to see politicians from across the chamber working together—not least on the very important exemptions from rent control that we have agreed today.
On that point of consensus, I particularly acknowledge Willie Rennie’s contribution. I agree with him about much of what he has observed, and I thank him for his considered approach and his support.
I also acknowledge something that Alasdair Allan said. In a landscape of statistics and much strain on the system, we can get caught up in requiring a significant shift in the numbers, but Mr Allan pointed out that even comparatively small developments of affordable homes can be transformational in communities. That, among many other things, is what the Government’s affordable housing supply programme is supporting.
I am very pleased that Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens have confirmed that they will vote for the bill tonight. However, I am frankly astonished that the Conservatives have taken the position that they have—that they will not support the bill. That is utterly appalling. I want to be clear to them that what they are voting against is what somebody with lived experience of the indignity and trauma of homelessness described as the chance to change the course of a life.