MP Yasmin Qureshi has spoken out against a series of attacks on houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) across Greater Manchester, urging residents not to resort to anger and violence. The comments follow 47 reports of criminal damage to properties that are either HMOs or are being mistaken for them, with incidents reported in Salford, Stockport and Tameside.
Recent weeks have seen bricks hurled through windows, cars attacked, properties trashed and one home left with a severed pig’s head on the doorstep. Some of the targeted properties are in Little Hulton, where Ms Qureshi serves as the local MP. In one incident, a family home was wrongly targeted in what local police described as a ‘case of mistaken identity’.
MP joins patrol walk in Little Hulton
Ms Qureshi joined police officers, local councillors and officers from Salford City Council on a patch walk in the town, which included stops outside some of the properties that had been subjected to the violence. All three properties showed boarded up windows, with police saying the modus operandi of those involved in the attacks is to smash their way through the front, plunder what they can and break through the back windows to get away.
One of the homes still had graffiti scrawled across it, with the white letters declaring ‘No HMO’ and ‘Send them back’. But Ms Qureshi insists that anger and violence are not the solution to anything.
Qureshi calls for compassion and consideration
The Bolton South and Walkden MP told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “You don’t solve any problems by getting angry and behaving the way people have been behaving. I think it is very inappropriate of them and I would ask them to just be considerate.”
“[The homes] are going to be occupied by people who need it and everyone is a human being at the end of the day. We should be compassionate and considerate.”
Ms Qureshi said she 'understands some of the concerns about the use of HMOs', but added the 'vast majority' of people who live in them do so 'because they need a home and this is what is convenient or what they can afford'.
“No one should live in fear of vandalism or violence because of where they live,” she said. “HMOs face strict requirements due to Salford’s licensing scheme, and whilst there are concerns over profiteering and the loss of family homes that are turned into HMOs, the right way to challenge this is through local councillors and the planning process. Not through smashing up houses that may or may not be a HMO.”
Social media blamed for stirring tensions
Ms Qureshi added she believes that part of the problem is social media and, in some cases, news organisations stirring up tensions. “Algorithms have been deliberately winding people up with negative information all the time, information being repeated in very misleading ways and this has made people angry. I think it’s a shame.”
Greater Manchester Police has set up a new initiative called Operation Engage in response to the recent troubles. This involves ‘morning, noon and night’ patrols that are ‘dedicated purely to HMOs’. There is also a dedicated team focusing on the HMO response, carrying out investigations and combing through CCTV.
Little Hulton councillor Tony Davies described the situation as ‘concerning’, adding the council too has stepped up support for local communities and is working proactively with partners to address it. He said: “It’s not something we want to see. The council is working with partners, we’ve stepped up patrols with GMP, we’ve sent out communications to the people affected and their neighbours seeing what the council can do to support them.”
“It’s something we are just taking incredibly, incredibly seriously. We can’t be having things like that on our streets.”
