§ Mr. ReynoldsI ask the leave of the House to present a Petition from many thousands of residents in North and East London, particularly 6,000 residents of my own constituency, which showeth that the housing position is extremely grave, that many thousands of families are forced to live in overcrowded conditions and that thousands of others in the area lack essential amenities.
The Petition alleges that this is primarily due to the decontrol provisions of the Rent Act, 1957, the restrictive effects of Her Majesty's Government's housing policy, the very high interest rates charged both to local authorities and to the people who are endeavouring to become owner-occupiers by purchasing their own houses, and the failure of the Government to impose any measure of control over land speculation.
The Petition concludes:
Wherefore your Petitioners pray that Her Majesty's Government will take immediate steps to deal with this distressing problem.And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.