Writing in this week's Bromsgrove Standard (May 1st), Bradley said:
"This country has a useless Housing Secretary who can’t answer the most basic questions about his Government’s own housing policies.
Following his visit to Wythall last month, the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Sir James Cleverly MP, questioned the Housing Secretary, Steve Reed MP, on the Government’s housing targets.
Speaking in the House of Commons, the Shadow Housing Secretary asked: “Last week I was in Bromsgrove, a rural constituency facing an 85% increase in its housing target. Neighbouring Labour-run Birmingham, which has significant brownfield capacity, has seen its target cut by more than 30%. Targets are increasing by 37% in Essex but decreasing by 11% in London. House building has collapsed under this Labour Government, so why is the Secretary of State letting his Labour-run urban friends off the hook while dumping housing targets in rural Britain?”
In response, the Housing Secretary failed to answer the question or to explain why Bromsgrove and the Villages’ housing target has been increased whilst Birmingham’s target has been decreased. Instead, the Housing Secretary turned to political point scoring to deflect from being unable to justify the Government’s housing target decisions.
Steve Reed is yet another Government Minister who is failing to answer a simple question on his own housing policy.
We all know why the Government can’t justify their 85% increase in our housing target – because there’s no justification.
I’d have more respect for the Housing Secretary if he just came out and said what we all know to be true; that his housing targets are a purely political move to help his friends in the cities and to punish rural Britain.
As I’ve said before, our greenbelt in Bromsgrove and the Villages is under attack like never before, and I’m doing everything I can to protect it.
There is enough brownfield land in England alone to build 1.41 million homes on. That should be the Government’s priority.
The Government should also be bringing empty homes back into use and scrapping Stamp Duty to free up the housing market.
There is so much more this Government could be doing instead of building on our greenbelt, but they’re just not interested.
I was elected with a mandate to fight to protect our greenbelt and that’s what I’ll continue to do."
