Politics latest: Tory leadership race narrows to four candidates as Mel Stride eliminated

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

Wednesday will see the much-delayed legislation to help renters return to parliament – but this time, it will be Labour’s version.

We wait to see the detail when it is presented to the Commons after PMQs, but we are expecting the party to keep its promise to ban no fault evictions, also known as Section 21s.

The chief executive of homelessness charity Shelter, Polly Neate, said the new government would be “right to pull the plug” on the evictions, with over one million renters being handed one since the Tories first pledged to end them in 2019.

But she called for “bold action to deliver security” for those in rented accommodation, adding: “If the government is serious about making renting genuinely safer, secure, and more affordable, the Bill must guarantee renters greater protection.

“Renters need to know they won’t be booted out of their homes by eye-watering rent hikes and the discriminatory practices that push so many into homelessness must be stamped out.”

Director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition campaign group, Tom Darling, also welcomed what he had heard so far, but said it was a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix a broken system”.

He called on Labour to introduce “wide-ranging reforms”, including limits on how much rent can be increased during a tenancy.

And while the chief executive of Generation Rent, Ben Twomey, praised Labour for “acting quickly”, he echoed Mr Darling’s call, adding: “If landlords are allowed to continue with unchecked and unaffordable rent rises, thousands more of us will still be forced into poverty and on to the streets.”