We cannot carry on with a housing stock that is killing us and our children

For too long debate has Jocused on owning rather than renting and quantity of homes rather than quality

- Andy Burnham

THIS should be a defining moment for the housing sector." So said Coroner Joanne Kearsley as she delivered her verdict on the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from a respiratory condition caused by mould in his family's flat in Rochdale.

It may be more than 200 miles away - but is there anyone in London who would disagree with her sentiments? On the contrary, I'm sure most Londoners would strongly endorse the Coroner's words, only perhaps adding the qualification that the same thing was said after Grenfell in 2017 and Lakanal in 2009 and yet the tragedies have kept on coming.

To be fair, Ms Kearsley's careful use of "should be" suggests she has her own doubts over whether Awaab's death will actually be a catalyst for change. She is not the first Coroner to make recommendations about housing standards.

And yet the fact that her words have reverberated throughout the land all week suggests a growing groundswell of support for action.

Unlike transport, the state of housing is a "levelling-up" issue which unites North and South. All parts of England have their own share of the nation's half a million mouldy homes; and of the one in 10 social-rented homes and one in five private-rented homes which don't meet the decent homes standard.