Wednesday, Jun 13, 2007
Housing policy (if there is one) is in crisis
Firstrung: Decade long surge in house prices is undermining ideology of a "property owning democracy"
The lack of affordable housing has become a political crisis for the main parties. For over a quarter of a century, the policies of British government have been geared towards a single goal - encouraging private home ownership. Ever since Margaret Thatcher introduced the "right to buy" for council tenants in 1980, both Tory and Labour governments have promoted the idea of a "property owning democracy" where housing is decided by the market rather than the state...
Posted by converted lurker @ 01:23 PM (175 views) Add Comment
10 Comments
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1. Wage Slave said...
Housing decided by the market rather than the state. My @rse !
That's why 50% of new builds are flats when only 3% want to live in flats. That's the UK planning system in action.
2. tyrellcorporation said...
Some reasonable points but at the end the article violently swings to the view that more council housing is needed - oh dear...
And then you realise it's been plucked from The Socialist Worker - double, oh dear!!!
How about we house people in concrete city bloks all run by state controlled departments, er, no that's been tried!
3. converted lurker said...
I reckon it's a reasonable piece TBH, irrespective of the contributor's politics. Do you not think a healthy housing policy should also incorporate a mixture of council house/ council run accomodation, over and above the approx. 280 units the government built last year? Why should socialism be considered a dirty word, would 'new socialism' fit better??
4. tyrellcorporation said...
Socialism doesn't work... period.
Socialism gives you organisations like the NHS - enough said.
5. Ticktock said...
tyrell,
So its better to force them to rent from private landlords you think?
Council houses are deperately needed by a large and growing proportion of the population. Many will care little as to what they are made of, or what they look like, just being able to securely house their family will surfice for most.
The fact that socialists believe that council houses are important does not automaticaly make the opposite true, as you seem to suggest.
It is not the Middle class who are suffering the most as a result of neo-liberal economics (although they are indeed suffering) it is the Working Class, and the Working Class both require, and deserve, decent affordable housing.
6. Utterlee said...
"Socialism gives you organisations like the NHS - enough said"
Hmm, one of the most admired institutions in the country, despite it's problems. I think most people would rather we have the NHS than not have the NHS. And it's still cheaper than the equivallent private systems in countries such as the USA, so if that's a barometer of socialism lets have a little bit more, not less.
7. converted lurker said...
Tyrell, the alternative being?
8. dugmug said...
There still is "council housing" - it's just provided by Registered Social Landlords instead of directly by councils. They're subsidised by the Government so it's not much different - except they produce much less social housing than was created in the past.
I read a report that pointed out that, in 1971, government finance rules were changed in a way that removed some of the incentive for local councils to build more social housing (and since then further dis-incentive has been caused by right-to-buy legislation), and it is since about then that the UK started suffering from these regular housing booms and crashes. I don't believe that report was written by some socialist/commie :-) either, so don't dismiss this article.
9. tyrellcorporation said...
CAPITALISM! The way life is meant to be. Survival of the fittest, Darwinism, Evolution, etc, etc...
CL, would you say Prescott is a socialist? If not who would you say IS a socialist who isn't in politics to climb the social ladder. Someone who selflessly puts others before themself - Nope I can't think of any either.
Going back to the original thread, Council Housing is another way of trapping people into State dependancy - utterly abhorrent IMHO.
10. Ticktock said...
Tyrell,
In case you hadn't noticed your capitalism has failed (again) and is now on the brink of creating a global war (again) The claim of capitalism being the natural order of things is quite laughable, given the number of regulations, laws, and wars required in order for it the (miss) function.
Furthermore, your misunderstanding regarding what Darwin's Origin of Species work suggests is also common amongst capitist supporters. Maybe if they read more philosophy and less economics they would be able to present more plausible arguements? :)