On May 7 the Green Party had its most successful local election results ever. Up and down the country hundreds of new Green councillors, and two new Green Mayors, are getting straight to work tackling issues affecting their local communities – and I couldn’t be more proud.
In Bristol we know how much difference having a Green in the council chamber – or even better in administration – can make. In 2025 our Green-led council oversaw the building of a record number of affordable homes with many more in the works. That same year Bristol was recognised as the best city in England on climate action. And, in January, the Local Government Association praised the “progress, leadership and direction” at the council, noting that our collaborative committee system “is in robust health” and “showing signs of maturity” just two years after it was introduced.
The progress on affordable homes has been amazing to see but I can’t help thinking about all the people in our community who continue to struggle with unaffordable private rents.
On 1st May the Government’s new Renters’ Rights Act came into force. Although this is a step in the right direction, without any serious action to address the unaffordability of rents it’s just not enough.
Yes, it put an end to no-fault evictions, but when the landlord can still hike the rent until people can no longer afford to stay, isn’t that just no-fault eviction by another name? I know there are thousands of private renters across the city still at the whim of landlords charging extortionate rent for poor quality housing.
I was out on Whiteladies Road recently talking about this very issue – hearing how much people spend on rent, and the things they have to forgo in order to do so. On average, renters in Bristol spend 57% of their incomes on rent, the highest figure in the country outside London. Even with prices this high, I am still regularly hearing cases of tenants living in terrible conditions. Recently, I have been helping some constituents whose private landlord has left them living for over a month in a house where waste from the toilet, sink and shower is flooding into their conservatory. This is unacceptable.
The local election results show that after two years in government the Labour Party has not delivered on the promises they made. People up and down the country feel that the things that matter to them the most, like housing and energy bills, are being ignored.
Green representatives do things differently. Straight after the local elections I teamed up with the Green Party’s two new Mayors, who represent Lewisham and Hackney, putting pressure on the government on these issues. We wrote to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to demand the government start doing something that would actually benefit the thousands of people renting privately in our areas: introduce rent controls.
• If you live in Bristol Central and need help with a local issue, email me at bristolcentraloffice@parliament.uk or write to Carla Denyer MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA For national issues email me using carla.denyer.mp@parliament.uk