Dear John Swinney and Paul McLennan,

We, the undersigned SNP members, write to you with one clear message: Scotland needs strong rent controls.

Forty years of Thatcherite housing policy has failed Scotland miserably. And yet, with well-funded lobbying, deliberate mis- and disinformation, as well as outright lies, landlords are doing everything they can to ensure nothing changes - even during a national Housing Emergency.

This is an opportunity to show the people of Scotland whose side we are on: are we a party for the hundreds of thousands of tenants who have been pummelled by austerity, the cost of living crisis, and spiralling rents? Or are we a party for the tiny handful of landlords, milking our communities for everything they’re worth, no matter the suffering it causes?

You must stand firm. We need a strong, national system of rent controls that covers both existing and new tenancies to protect all of Scotland’s tenants and help end the housing emergency. We ask you to show the leadership Scotland needs and deliver the bold and transformative policies the housing crisis demands.

This is our opportunity to show the difference we can make. Let’s not miss it