Green Party's Mayoral candidate plans a roof over every head

Will Patterson, Green Party candidate for Greater Manchester Mayor

As the race to be the first ever directly elected Mayor of Greater Manchester enters its final stretch, the Green Party's candidate Will Patterson is asking voters to back his plan to put a roof over every head.

Greater Manchester has seen a dramatic rise in the numbers of homeless people living on its streets while tens of thousands continue to wait for social housing.

In the last year street homelessness in the region rose by 41% and has quadrupled since 2010.

Charities working with the homeless have blamed government benefit cuts for this increase, while councils have in turn blamed government cuts to local authority funding.

There is now widespread recognition that successive governments have failed to prevent the current housing crisis.

Will Patterson, the Green Party's candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester, wants to bring every agency together to make sure everyone in Greater Manchester has somewhere to live.

Mr Patterson said: "Everyone has the right to a home.

"I will use my influence as Mayor to bring together homeless charities, housing associations and local authorities and I will work with the government, to make sure help is targeted to those who need it.

"We need to build far more social housing and re-open shelters to get people off the streets.

"We need to give those who are homeless real homes, using the housing first social model, as well as making the right kind of housing available to those in need of it. Tthis includes domestic violence refuges and safe accommodation, and safe spaces for young people. We also need specific provision for older and disabled people and enough adapted accommodation to enable people to live independently where they can.

"I'll work to bring housing associations and smaller, local developers together in a joint venture that can compete effectively with the big private developers, to create a major development company that will put people before profit.”