North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan calls for social housing changes in Question Time appearance

Lib Dem Helen Morgan, who won the seat after a by-election in 2021, was part of this week's panel for the television programme, filmed in Bristol.

The Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities was replying to a question from a 25-year-old trainee clinical scientist who asked if young people will ever be able to get onto the housing ladder.

The MP said part of the problem was high rental prices.

"The crisis in the private rental market is well documented," she said.

"A couple of people who came to North Shropshire to work with me couldn't even find anywhere to rent in North Shropshire. We need a fresh approach and proper investment to social housing. There are one and a half million people on housing waiting lists, many in inappropriate housing and having to be housed in B&Bs."

Mrs Morgan said that the Renters Reform Bill, which would ban no-fault evictions, was vital.

"The Government has said they will do it - I don't know what they are waiting for."

Thursday night's panel also included Bristol Conservative MP, Dr Andrew Murrison, Labour's Emily Thornberry MP, Danny Sriskandarajah. chief executive of Oxfam and Spectator editor, Fraser Nelson.

Responding to a question about plans to put migrants in ex-military bases as an alternative to hotels, the North Shropshire MP said that the Government was demonising the migrants.

"The ways we are treating people are costly, inhuman and shameful," she said.

She called for the speeding up of the processing of the migrants to stop them "languishing in hotels on £5 a day".

During the hour-long debate the MP also spoke on ways to get Britain to Net Zero carbon emissions and said that permission for a coal mine in Cumbria should never have been given.

"The Government has made appalling progress since 2015 when we had a Liberal Democrat secretary of state for climate change and quadrupled energy output from renewables," she said.

"We also need to do the easy, straightforward things such as insulate housing."

Speaking on juvenile crime, Mrs Morgan said there needed to be more funding for police community support officers to help tackle low level crime and better funding for councils to invest in youth.