The leader of the Labour Party demanded in a speech on Thursday, that one billion pounds should be set aside in the forthcoming budget to have Tower Blocks fitted with sprinkler systems. It comes just before the Chancellor Philip Howard announces the budget in two weeks.
The Grenfell Tower disaster claimed eighty lives back in June, was ‘entirely avoidable’, if adequate safety measures were in place. Corbyn goes on to say that, ‘The Government is failing to learn the lessons from this tragedy’. He claims only two percent of housing association tower blocks have sprinkler systems, even though they are nearly 100 percent effective in controlling or containing a fire.
Labour have advised that local authorities including those in Conservative run areas are having funding requests for sprinklers to be retrofitted turned down, or even ignored leaving many still without the security of feeling safe in their own homes.
Labour's make home safe campaign
The campaign by Labour was launched in Hull where Labour’s Shadow Minister Melanie Onn visited earlier in the week. The city is home to twenty-six high rise council blokes reminiscent of Grenfell and none of them have a sprinkler system fitted in them.
A letter from corbyn to May is now on the Labour Party website and they have put the call out on social media to encourage members of the public to sign it. It currently has over 59,000 signatures and Corbyn has been tweeting urging others to sign it.
He also tweets, ‘It’s simple- sprinklers save lives’.
The party have said that all housing and council association houses should have sprinklers fitted beginning with those that are ten storey's or higher. Corbyn has also criticised the cuts the government have opposed on the fire services which have seen over 10,000 front line positions cut.
Corbyn's letter to May
The letter advises the Prime Minister that thousands of families who live in high rise properties do not have adequate fire systems. It goes on to say Chief Fire Officers across the UK have said that fitting homes with fire safety systems such as sprinklers save lives.
The Labour Leader ends the letter by urging May to set aside funding from the 2017 Budget for local authorities to fit these safety systems and help protect the thousands of families that reside in them.
The results of Labour’s campaign will be seen when the Budget is revealed in the next two weeks by the Conservative Government, and ultimately, if May has listened to the opposition leader.
