Andrew George

Andrew George

Liberal Democrat — St Ives

Speaking in the House of Commons on 13 November 2026

Debate

Homes and Planning Bill

Contribution

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. The problem experienced by his constituent is replicated throughout the country. It certainly is in my area, and I am sure the situation is the same in a tourism area such as Torbay. We looked on the internet—in the days when one could look on the internet—and found that 2,700 holiday lets and Airbnbs were available in the constituency, but there was not a single home for private rent within the local housing allowance. Some 65 private rents were available, but at rents significantly above the local housing allowance. That shows the degree of imbalance in areas such as ours, where there is an incentive for those who own more than one property to make their properties available for the holiday trade, rather than as affordable housing for local people. The Bill’s purpose is to empower local communities to deliver affordable homes. I will come to the relevant clauses in a moment.

More from Andrew George

Other recent Hansard contributions by the same speaker.

About Hansard

Hansard is the official verbatim record of proceedings in the UK Parliament. Every word spoken in the Commons and Lords is recorded and published — this page is a single contribution from that record.

For Andrew George's full parliamentary record including voting history, expenses and all other contributions, see the Andrew George report card.