Labour MP Jess Phillips has warned that the cost of living crisis is forcing people to rely on inheritance to secure housing, as she highlighted the dire state of social care, housing and justice. Speaking at a fish and chip shop in Birmingham, the shadow minister said the situation in her constituency had become more extreme than anything she had known before.
Phillips, who represents Birmingham Yardley, said housing had become an endemic problem with knock-on effects for health, crime and employment. 'There are thousands of families on every waiting list. Evictions are back after the pandemic with a vengeance,' she said, adding that private landlords were filling Victorian houses with vulnerable people, with the taxpayer paying the consequences.
The MP contrasted the current crisis with her parents' generation, noting that her grandparents had a council house and stability despite modest incomes. 'My mum's mum was a single mother dinner lady. But my mum went off to university and they didn't lie awake worrying about how to pay the bills,' she said.
Phillips also spoke about the importance of local representation, saying she never wanted to just be a Labour MP but specifically the MP for Birmingham Yardley. She described her constituency work as 'the only good bit of my job' and said it gave her life for the rest of it.
The shadow minister called for Labour to get angrier about the crises in health, homes and justice, as she highlighted the struggles faced by her constituents. She noted that while Birmingham city centre had seen a 'glow up' with redevelopment, the benefits had not reached her area.
