What have the so-called "Corbynites" and Corbyn got to do with this anniebach? Why are you directing such fury at him? Corbyn was a backbencher who often took up causes which the established Labour Party weren't particularly bothered about. Last year he tried to pass a law to make homes safe. In the past, he had no ministerial responsibility for housing standards or building regulations. If you recall, Blair and then Brown were the PMs and most of their appointed ministers are the people who have briefed against Corbyn.
In any event it is the Conservative Party that has been quite open about its disdain for regulatory controls.
On 14 June the Mirror reported:
" A former Tory housing minister warned MPs against beefing up fire safety regulations, because it could discourage house building.
"Brandon Lewis admitted automatic sprinklers save lives, but said it was not the government's responsibility to encourage developers to fit them.......
"... Mr Lewis told MPs: "We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the Government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation."
"Theresa May's new chief of staff Gavin Barwell was the latest of a string of Tory ministers to pledge a review of building regulations, after a damning report into the fire at Lakanal House in London in 2009, which claimed six lives.......
"The Tories ignored two coroner’s reports into fatal high rise fires that called for safety improvements.
"After the inquiry into the Shirley Towers fire, that led to the death of two firefighters, the coroner wrote to the then Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to press for sprinklers to be fitted in all high rise properties.
"The same call was made by the coroner Frances Kirkham into the 2009 Lakanal House fire in Southwark, London, which killed six people
"Ms Kirkham wrote a Rule 43 letter to Mr Pickles in 2013 setting out a series of recommendations.
"Rule 43 letters are only sent when the coroner believes there is a risk other deaths will occur unless action is taken.
On 22 June the Guardian reported that:
"A government-supported initiative to cut red tape considered a push to dismantle EU regulations on the fire safety of cladding and other construction materials in the weeks before the Grenfell Tower fire.
"A document obtained by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, and seen by the Guardian, singled out EU regulation which covers the safety and efficacy of construction materials as among the first to target for dismantling. Among the products covered in the EU regulation is cladding.
"The document was produced on 10 May for the Red Tape Initiative, a body supported by the government, to “seize the opportunities” of Brexit to cut red tape. Entitled The EU’s Impact on the UK Housing and Construction Industry, it picks out the Construction Products Regulation (EU 305/2011) as “red tape folly” which is “expensive and burdensome for small businesses”.
"The regulation aims to harmonise the quality of construction materials, including external cladding, across the EU, to make sure they are safe and fit for use.
"It states: “The construction works must be designed and built in such a way that in the event of an outbreak of fire the generation and spread of fire and smoke within the construction works are limited.”
As it appears these regulations were already in place, then presumably they were either not rigorous enough or they were ignored. Whichever way you look at it, I guess that most people would think that trying to dilute them even further or get rid of them completely would be even more dangerous.
