Emma Reynolds MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to today’s statutory homelessness figures which show a rise in the number of families accepted as homeless, said:

“These figures show the scale of this Government’s failure to tackle the housing shortage which is central to the cost-of-living crisis. It is a tragedy that so close to Christmas thousands of families are without a home.

“David Cameron has broken his promises to tackle homelessness.  Rising housing costs and low pay have made it more and more difficult for people to stay in their family home and the Government’s failure to build the affordable homes we need and policies like the Bedroom Tax have made things worse.

“Labour is committed to raising living standards for all by building more homes, raising wages, getting a fairer deal for private renters and abolishing the unfair Bedroom Tax.”

The real choices - the Labour alternative

As the Labour Party meets for its annual conference up in Manchester there are less than nine months to go before Britain is faced with a choice.

The choice to elect a government that only represents the interests of a few or a Labour government that will take on vested interests and stand up for the many.

The Tories and LibDems will use every tool at their disposal to try and discredit us and blame us for their failure.

Remember, under this useless Coalition the use of food banks has increased tenfold, prices continue to outstrip wages and it's getting harder and harder to get an appointment with your GP.

Ed Miliband's Labour Party offers a real alternative.

A Labour Government elected in 2015 will axe the cruel Bedroom Tax, strengthen the minimum wage, introduce a cap on energy bills to reset the broken market, and stop the Tory privatisation of our world-beating NHS,

The Scottish Referendum showed that people will come out and vote in huge numbers (86%) when given a clear choice about issues that matter to them.

Should be a record turnout in 2015 then.

The scandal of Government premium rate help lines

Valerie Vaz, Labour MP for Walsall South, has quietly been finding out how much the Government makes from premium rate lines.  Each Department has been asked in turn.  The one that is going to stir up a storm (according to today's Daily Telegraph, is dear old Work and Pensions.  Their appalling record is listed in full at Hansard here.

There are 180 premium lines (and no ordinary phone number alternatives), so unless you are a benefits expert you are very likely to have to ring more than one at up to 41p a minute.  150,000 rang the Bereavement Hotline (there are no bereavement benefits) and 4 million rang about the Social Fund, presumably to be told "How can you claim to have no money when you can afford to ring this number?"  Oh how Duncan Smith and the lads must have laughed!

It's the ultimate Tory dream - not only taking money from the poor but turning a profit on them at the same time!

Overall, Government departments receive 130 million premium rate calls a year.  Cable & Wireless, who operate the system, make a cool million per annum from the so-called service.  Have to say they missed a trick, though.  They should have set up a dedicated number for Bedroom Tax inquiries and halved the deficit overnight.