<p>Labour leader Keir Starmer has today (February 1) called for a national cladding taskforce with upfront funding to remove unsafe cladding.</p> <p>The Labour party said that ahead of a “crunch vote” in parliament today, its leader was urging for such a taskforce, modelled on an approach adopted in Australia, to “get a grip on the deepening cladding crisis and protect leaseholders from bearing the cost”. </p> <p>Pointing to figures from the New Build Database and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), showing that up to 11 million people could be affected by unsafe cladding following the Grenfell tragedy, Labour said the taskforce should include “immediate upfront funding” to remove dangerous cladding and cover other “urgent” fire safety work.</p> <p>Under the taskforce, Labour said leaseholders should be legally protected from costs with “those responsible for the cladding scandal” pursued and residents able to sell and re-mortgage their homes.</p> <p>Starmer also called for a “legally enforceable” deadline of 2022 to make homes safe. Labour also wants to see reform to “stamp out rogue builders”. </p> <p>The Labour leader said: “Today needs to be a turning point for those affected by the cladding scandal. Millions of people have been sucked into this crisis …