The campaign has three asks: create decent and affordable homes for all, end the low-wage economy and invest in young people, and build a greener economy and create millions of well-paid green jobs.
Lord Bird, founder of Big Issue Group and crossbench peer, said: “Young people and future generations deserve a fair shot at life. Together, we can build a better future. If you didn’t sign up to an uncertain future for all, sign up to our campaign and open letter today.”
There is a strategy. To create decent and affordable homes, the campaign asks the government to commit to building tens of thousands of more affordable homes each year. It also demands a reform to the planning legislation so that unused buildings must be used for residential purposes.
The campaign also champions renters rights – demanding rent caps, an end to unfair evictions and clearing rent arrears. It asks the government to introduce a housing first approach for people who are homeless and living with multiple needs, so everyone can access a stable home regardless of their circumstances.
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Kwajo Tweneboa, housing campaigner, said: “With the rate of homelessness and hidden homelessness rising as well as the cost of rentals. Things are becoming more and more expensive.
“There are over one million people on the waiting list for a social home and it’s growing at a faster rate than the government are building. Everyone deserves access to a safe home in this country. When housing collapses it’s social housing we will depend on. Let’s not wait for that disaster to happen and start treating affordable and social homes with the priority it deserves and has needed for decades.”
For an end to the low-wage economy, Big Futures is calling for a £15-an-hour minimum wage for all workers over the age of 18. It also asks that the government implement a Future Skills Scheme, upskilling and reskilling young people and members of the UK’s workforce who are in jobs that are vulnerable to disruption by crises or in currently left-behind communities.
And finally, Big Futures demands that the government commits to creating millions of well-paid, green jobs, by investing public money into green infrastructure and the care economy. There must be a transition to a green economy, which means supporting a net zero and resilient economy in a way that delivers fairness and tackles inequality and injustice.
Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the National Education Union, added: “The government needs to act to help families and children in the short term, but also put in place solutions that tackle the root causes of poverty. Decades of falling wages, underinvestment in housing and neglect of the environment are compounding the current crisis and must be addressed if we are to build a better future. Action must be taken to safeguard the future for the next generation.”
Show your support and demand a better future by signing our open letter to the government here.
