Vagrancy Act repealed: Archaic and cruel law consigned to history

In reaction to the news that the Vagrancy Act will be repealed, long time campaigner against the Act, Layla Moran MP said:

“After years of campaigning I am elated that we consigned this archaic and cruel law to history. No one should be criminalised for sleeping rough, especially by a piece of legislation passed in the Georgian era. 

“This is testament to the hard work of so many people: the students who first brought the issue to my attention, and to our campaign partners Crisis.

“This can transform the way we talk about rough sleeping and homelessness in this country, from criminalisation to compassion.

“While we can celebrate today, tomorrow we return to the hard work of holding the government to account on their manifesto commitment to ending rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament."