“Street life as a lifestyle”
British minister doesn’t want homeless tents in cities
November 4th, 2023, 5:55 p.m
Homeless tents in inner cities are a thorn in the side of British Home Secretary Braverman. The conservative politician wants to get the growing phenomenon under control. She focuses on people who have chosen “street life as a lifestyle”.
Britain’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman wants to take action against the growing number of homeless tents in British city centers. The said the conservative politician via X (formerly Twitter). It’s not about people who are “really homeless”, but about people who often come from abroad and have chosen “street life as a lifestyle”, she emphasized. “We cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents (…),” said Braverman.
Odbachlosen tents in London.
(Photo: picture alliance / Photoshot)
According to a report in the Financial Times, to which Braverman’s post referred, the distribution of tents by aid organizations will in future be punishable as an administrative offense if they are used to disrupt public order. Setting up in front of a shop entrance was given as an example. A corresponding legislative initiative should therefore take place at the “King’s Speech” – the reading of the government declaration by King Charles III – scheduled for Tuesday. – be officially announced.
No one in Britain should have to live in tents on the streets, Braverman stressed. There were options for people who did not want to sleep on the streets and the government was working with local authorities to strengthen comprehensive support. But if the pitching of tents is not stopped, there is a risk of a development like that in the US cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles, where weak policies have led to an “explosion of crime, drug abuse and misery,” warned Braverman.