Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has admitted there is not “definitive timeline” for removing unsafe cladding from buildings, seven years on from the Grenfell fire tragedy. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a promised “remediation acceleration plan” will speed up the process. Ms Rayner added: “I’m always straight with people. I can’t give you a timeline today, but what I can say is that it is an incredibly slow process at the moment – seven years on – and that’s not acceptable.” She declined to say when all homes with dangerous cladding will be made safe.
Angela Rayner refuses to set cladding deadline after Grenfell report as Labour drops hereditary peers – UK politics live
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Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has admitted there is not “definitive timeline” for removing unsafe cladding from buildings, seven years on from the Grenfell fire tragedy.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a promised “remediation acceleration plan” will speed up the process.
Ms Rayner added: “I’m always straight with people. I can’t give you a timeline today, but what I can say is that it is an incredibly slow process at the moment – seven years on – and that’s not acceptable.”
She declined to say when all homes with dangerous cladding will be made safe.
It comes a the government will begin the process of removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords today, as it introduces legislation to reform the upper chamber.
Abolishing the 92 seats reserved for hereditary peers was one of Labour’s manifesto commitments, and is expected to be followed by the imposition of a retirement age of 80 on members of the Lords.
Officials have previously described the continued presence of hereditary peers in the Lords as “outdated and indefensible”, with reform “long overdue and essential”.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, minister for the constitution, said the legislation was a “landmark reform to our constitution”.
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Remaining hereditary peers to be kicked out of House of Lords within months
Labour will abolish the 92 remaining hereditary peers within months under legislation to be tabled on Thursday.
The government committed before the general election to abolish the hereditary peerages as part of its promised House of Lords reforms.
After abolishing hereditary peerages, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to impose an upper age limit of 80 for members of the upper chamber.
Joe Middleton5 September 2024 11:02
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Tory leadership frontrunner Jenrick praises Patel and makes case for members to get more of a say
Robert Jenrick, who came top in the first round of voting by MPs in the Tory leadership first ballot yesterday to replace Rishi Sunak, paid tribue to Priti Patel in a post on X last night.
He also urged for the Tory Party to become more democratic and empower members to make decisions.
He said on X: “My friend @pritipatel is a relentless champion for Conservatism whose experience will be invaluable as we rebuild. Her campaign means the case for party reform is now unarguable. We must democratise the party, empower members and grow our membership.”
Joe Middleton5 September 2024 10:27
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EXCLUSIVE: Union boss rages over betrayal of heroic fire fighters who fought Grenfell blaze
A major fire in Dagenham last month which had the same cause as the Grenfell Tower tragedy proves that fire fighters and the public are still at risk from a major blaze, a union boss has warned.
Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), told The Independent that his members have been betrayed in the aftermath of the Grenfell disaster as well as in the events leading to the tragedy.
It comes after the London Fire Brigade was severely criticised for its lack of preparation for the disaster in the report presented by Sir Martin Moore-Bick.
Our political editor David Maddox has the scoop
Joe Middleton5 September 2024 10:07
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Angela Rayner admits there is no ‘definitive timeline’ to remove unsafe cladding
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has admitted there is not “definitive timeline” for removing unsafe cladding from buildings, seven years on from the Grenfell fire tragedy.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a promised “remediation acceleration plan” will speed up the process.
Ms Rayner added: “I’m always straight with people. I can’t give you a timeline today, but what I can say is that it is an incredibly slow process at the moment – seven years on – and that’s not acceptable.”
She declined to say when all homes with dangerous cladding will be made safe.
Joe Middleton5 September 2024 09:57
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Grenfell report highlights ‘disgraceful’ treatment of social tenants, says Rayner
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has said the Grenfell Tower report highlighted the “disgraceful” treatment of social tenants and that there needed to be a “cultural shift to empowering people”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think the people of Grenfell were dismissed and not listened to and were not empowered as tenants.
“And I think that we’ve got to make sure that greed and profit is not put above safety.”
She added: “There is a total imbalance for tenants at the moment, and social tenants in particular have a stigma attached to them.
“And as someone who was a social tenant all of my childhood and into my adulthood, I completely appreciate that there is a culture in this country where they’re considered lesser people, and that’s disgraceful.”
Joe Middleton5 September 2024 09:28
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Grenfell fire survivors demand manslaughter charges and warn against Hillsborough-style wait for justice
Survivors whose loved ones were among the 72 people killed in the Grenfell Tower fire seven years ago have said that their fight for justice must not be allowed to “rumble on like Hillsborough” – and warned that “nothing less than” manslaughter charges will suffice.
The long-awaited final report of the inquiry ordered by Theresa May just hours after the fire on 14 June 2017 was finally published on Wednesday, condemning decades of institutional failures that led to the Kensington tower block – and thousands of others – being covered in dangerously flammable cladding.
But those whose loved ones were killed in what was the worst residential blaze since the Blitz have expressed anger that the inquiry appears to have delayed their fight for justice, with police and prosecutors warning that decisions on criminal charges will not be made until the end of 2026.
Joe Middleton5 September 2024 09:22
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Rayner admits some buildings might still not be safe
Angela Rayner also acknowledged that some people still live in buildings that might not be safe, seven years after the Grenfell fire tragedy.
“All buildings in the UK could have a failure of some sort. I can’t guarantee 100% that every building in the UK is going to be 100% safe,” she said.
“But what I can say is that measures have been taken to ensure that there are fire evacuation procedures, that where there is a waking watch that’s required, that there is a process with the fire brigade to ensure that people are safe.”
Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary (Chris Furlong/PA) (PA Wire)
Joe Middleton5 September 2024 09:11
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Watch: ‘I don’t recall’: Grenfell campaigners highlight repeated lack of answers from inquiry
‘I don’t recall’: Grenfell campaigners highlight repeated lack of answers from inquiry
Joe Middleton5 September 2024 09:04
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EXCLUSIVE: Grenfell Tower fire survivors warn they must not face Hillsborough-style wait for justice
Survivors whose loved ones were among the 72 people killed in the Grenfell Tower fire seven years ago have warned that their fight for justice must not be allowed to “rumble on like Hillsborough”.
But those whose loved ones were killed in what was the worst residential blaze since the Blitz have expressed anger that the inquiry appears to have delayed their fight for justice, with police and prosecutors warning that decisions on criminal charges will not be made until the end of 2026.
Joe Middleton5 September 2024 08:48
Read the full story on www.independent.co.uk
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/grenfell-report-patel-starmer-labour-conservative-politics-news-b2607397.html