MP Called the Friend of Rogue Landlords

A Conservative MP has come under fire from a leading national newspaper following his supposed opposition to the prevention of revenge evictions.

The Independent branded Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, as being “Britain’s most-belligerent MP” after he supposedly “talked out” a proposal to stop these types of evictions by rogue landlords.[1] The newspaper was also unhappy on Davies’ similar actions towards legislation concerning smoking bans, gay rights and overseas aid.

Revenge evictions

So-called revenge evictions are where landlords serve eviction notices on tenants after they have complained about the condition of the property, or have asked for basic improvements to be made.

According to the newspaper, Mr Davies made an hour-long speech, opposing the Tenancies Reform Bill, which was proposed by Liberal Democrat MP, Sarah Teather. If the bill had become law, tenants would have received greater protection against rogue landlords. Despite being defeated, with assistance from Davies, a new version of the legislation will be debated in the House of Lords next month.

MP Called the Friend of Rogue Landlords

Tactical

The Independent has accused Mr Davies of tactically elongating his speech in order to try and prevent support for the bill. During Davies’ speech, the deputy speaker of the House of Commons, said: “He has been talking for a very long time on the same point. He is in danger of repeating the same point continuously, and, dare I say it, repetition can get a bit tedious.”[1]

However, when questioned on his behavior, Mr Davies said: “When I first got elected to Parliament my mentor was Eric Forth [the former Conservative MP] and he really was the past master of talking out bills on a Friday.” He continued by saying that Forth “did it for fun and he was brilliant at it. After he died I vowed I would do the same kind of work.”[1]

[1] http://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/1293-mp-branded-as-the-friend-of-rogue-landlords