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Reacting to the news that people camped out in the streets through the night in West London in the early hours of Thursday morning just to have the chance to purchase a studio flat for £199,000 which won’t even be ready until 2017, Green mayoral candidate Sian Berry said:
“If you want one graphic illustration of the depth of our housing crisis in London, look no further than this. People shouldn’t have to join an all-night queue just to buy a flat. We’re talking about homes to live in, not the Harrods sale. Of course I understand completely why people want to queue. With private rents rising all the time, who wouldn’t want to buy their own place if it is anywhere within reach? But the idea that a 300-square-foot studio for nearly £200,000 is some kind of bargain shows how out of control our market is. It’s yet another sign of our desperate need to provide tens of thousands more affordable properties for people on ordinary incomes if London is to carry on functioning.”
Sian Berry is a former principal speaker of the Green Party. She previously stood as the party’s candidate for Mayor of London in 2008. She is also head of the Green Party’s list of candidates for the London Assembly. She is the only party candidate for Mayor of London who rents her home.