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Labour will vow to save thousands from the prospect of losing their home by reversing a cruel Tory cut.

The party says it will reinstate legal help in up to 50,000 housing cases a year if Jeremy Corbyn gets into Downing Street.

Launching the policy tonight in Manchester, Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon will say: "Everyone should have the right to a safe and decent home.

"Restoring this legal aid for housing advice will help tens of thousands of people resolve their housing issues and regain their housing rights.

"Prevention is better than cure and this policy will help stop problems like damp, leaking roofs or faulty electrics from spiralling out of control and causing tenants even greater misery.”

(Image: iStock Unreleased)

Tory legal aid reforms in 2013 axed funding for early legal advice in many cases where families are behind on their rent or mortgage.

Since then, the number of people claiming "legal help" on a housing issue has more than halved, from 85,192 in 2012/13 to 35,474 in 2016/17.

Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon said Labour would reverse the 2013 cut, which had "weakened tenants' rights" and "benefited rogue landlords".

Labour's policy to reinstate the support goes a step further the party's 2017 manifesto, which made a similar pledge for family court cases.

(Image: Daily Mirror)

Labour claimed reinstating housing help would cost just £9m a year, based on the fact spending on it fell from £18.4m in 2012/13 to £9.6m in 2016/17.

The party says it would fund the pledge with money that was put aside in 2017 for Labour policies that the Tories have since implemented.

The Law Society previously branded the Tory legal aid reforms "short-sighted and counterproductive".

It said legal help is still available in repossession cases but only when claimants face losing their homes imminently.

Meanwhile homelessness has soared - with the number of households stuck in temporary accommodation rising 63% since 2010 to 78,180, and the number of rough sleepers more than doubling.