Tories pledge crackdown on anti-social tenants and fly-tippers
The Conservatives have pledged that fly-tippers will get points on their driving licences and anti-social tenants will get three strikes before being kicked out of social housing if the party is elected.
The worst fly-tipping offenders could lose their licences and face prison time, the Tories said.
The party said it would pass a law to kick tenants out of social housing after three proven instances of anti-social behaviour. Local authorities and housing associations will be responsible for evicting the tenants.
“This kind of behaviour can wreak havoc on your life and is linked to other crimes, like domestic violence and drug dealing. It will stop,” the party said.
The moves are part of the party’s plan to “stamp out anti-social behaviour across the board to restore pride in place, improve people’s quality of life and boost community cohesion”.
They build on previously announced measures to hand out £1,000 fines for fly-tippers, ban nitrous oxide and force offenders to clean up their own graffiti.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Everyone has the right to feel safe in their neighbourhood and a sense of pride in the place they call home.
“The Conservatives are the only ones with a clear plan to ensure safety, security and prosperity in your local community and your high street.
“We will take the bold action needed to crack down on fly-tipping, evict nuisance tenants and stop anti-social behaviour in its tracks so we can build a secure future for everyone across the whole country.”
Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, rejected the announcement as “empty words”.
“This is more empty words from a chaotic Tory party who have let antisocial behaviour run rampant and let criminals, vandals and fly-tippers get away with it,” she said.
“There were more than a million fly-tipping incidents on the Conservatives’ watch in the last year, yet the Tories repeatedly failed to implement their own policies and promises.
“Who does Rishi Sunak think is going to enforce any action on antisocial behaviour when the Tories have cut 10,000 neighbourhood police and PCSOs in the last eight years?”
Ms Cooper repeated Labour’s pledge to put 13,000 more neighbourhood police and community support officers back on the beat.
The Liberal Democrats said fines for fly-tipping have been too low under the Tories.
“The Conservatives have effectively legalised littering. Under their government, fines for littering and fly-tipping are so low that people are being let off scot-free up and down the country,” local government spokeswoman Helen Morgan said.
