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Corbyn says Labour will buy every UK homeless person a house - what about a free pony, ice-cream and iPhone?

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Labour will buy every homeless person in the UK a house if the party is elected, Jeremy Corbyn has announced. 

The party leader said he would purchase 8,000 homes "immediately" and give them to people sleeping rough around the UK.

He also highlighted plans to allow councils to take over properties that have been left "deliberately" empty in order to house people who are on waiting lists around the country. 

Rough sleeping in England has reached new highs, official figures out last week showed. 

There are now around 5,000 people living on the streets around the country, a 15 per cent rise on the same period in 2016. 

Labour also announced plans to hand over vacant Housing Association properties to homeless people, rather than to people on waiting lists. 

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show Mr Corbyn said: "(We would) immediately purchase 8,000 properties across the country to give immediate housing to those people that are currently homeless.

"At the same time we would require local authorities to build far more. 

"The problem is homeless people, rough sleepers, beg to get money for a night shelter, stay in the night shelter or a hostel.

"The problem then is move on accommodation, the problem then is not having an address, without which can't get a job or claim benefits."

Mr Corbyn added that new homes built by developers and "deliberately" kept vacant would be handed over to councils to help ease pressure for housing. 

He said: "'We would give local authorities the power to take over deliberately kept vacant properties. 

"There is something grossly insulting about the idea you would build a luxury block... deliberately keep it empty knowing that with property price inflation the investor is going to make 10 per cent or 12 per cent a year... maybe a bit less but they are going to make a fair amount out of it."

ENDS

I'm sure Bill Shorten's watching.

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