The home secretary, Suella Braverman, has described rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice” while defending her decision to restrict the use of tents by homeless people on the streets of Britain.

According to Whitehall insiders, Braverman plans to crack down on tents that cause a nuisance in urban areas such as high streets – amid growing numbers of rough sleepers and what the government considers a rise in antisocial behaviour.

The home secretary has also proposed the introduction of a civil offence, which could lead to charities being fined if they provide homeless people with tents, the Financial Times reported.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Braverman defended her proposals, saying: “The British people are compassionate. We will always support those who are genuinely homeless. But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice.

“Unless we step in now to stop this, British cities will go the way of places in the US like San Francisco and Los Angeles, where weak policies have led to an explosion of crime, drug-taking, and squalor.

    • cedarmesa@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Versus people who are recreationally homeless i guess? Reminds me of the obamacare debate. “If we give everyone healthcare they will OVERUSE it!” Because people choose to be hospitalized recreationally apparently.

      • VaultBoyNewVegas@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Par for the course with this woman and her party. She wants to send refugees off to Rwanda and believes many asylum seekers who claim asylum under grounds of persecution (IE being gay where you could be executed) are bullshitting and so should be sent back to be killed.

      • Nacktmull@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        Versus people who are recreationally homeless i guess?

        Keep in mind that it´s simply a lifestyle choice, nothing more.

    • Techmaster@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      “If you see a homeless person with a funny sign, they probably haven’t been homeless very long.” - Chris Rock