Extend Right To Buy To Tenants Of Private Landlords Says Jeremy Corbyn

[WageWar]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/extend-right-to-buy-to-the-tenants-of-private-landlords-labours-jeremy-corbyn-says-10342824.html

[TheCountOfNowhere]

I have just discovered that I like Corbyn. And I am sure lots of young people will say yes, why not stop the £14 billion gravy train for BTL LL and use it to provide housing for people who contribute to society rather than parasitic landlords ....

+14,000,000,000

[Bloo Loo]

Ive always been a strong supporter of the Labour Party.

[thewig]

Wouldn't this just be a bail out for BTL? I thought right to buy was effectively a Government BUNG to allow you to buy at 'below market value' or whatever, surely the Government would simply make good the BTLers Market Valuation and get them out of sht street?

Edited August 7, 2015 by thewig

[Snugglybear]

Wouldn't this just be a bail out for BTL? I thought right to buy was effectively a Government BUNG to allow you to buy at 'below market value' or whatever, surely the Government would simply make good the BTLers Market Valuation and get them out of sht street?

Not to quite the same extent if you had the same kind of discount as applies to Right to Buy and Right to Acquire.

Unlikely to happen, though. For one thing, in the private rented sector you don't have the same justification that tenants have been paying x amount of rent for x number of years to the same landlord that exists with the social rented sector. Not to mention centuries of property law to deal with.

[byron78]

How is suggesting someone without an asset has the right to privately buy an asset from another who is hoarding them communist?

It plainly isn't but I'm sure they'll find a way to brand it such.

[goldbug9999]

Ive always been a strong supporter of the Labour Party.

Its just a shame we dont have an actual labour party right now.

[stormymonday_2011]

I think it is great that Corbyn is bringing all these things into the public consciousness, even if people disagree with him and brand him communist etc. It means that people start to think about how the PRS works and how unequal things are. I don't agree with a lot of what Corbyn says but I think he is fresh air for politics marred by self interest and vanity.

I think it's a killer policy to take to war against Cameron's government and I honestly wonder why none of Corbyn's rivals have adopted it. If selling off rental property at knock down prices is such a great idea it would be a shame just to restrict it to Councils and Housing Associations. Surely, private landlords would want to share in this great opportunity to advance the nation's economy. I mean if you believe in a property owning democracy then you would want everyone owning a single property rather than just a few people owning a lot of property would you not ?

Edited August 8, 2015 by stormymonday_2011

[sPinwheel]

Go back to Russia.

[billybong]

It seems a fair enough policy if it isn't reneged on if he actually gets into power.

[wherebee]

I think it's a killer policy to take to war against Cameron's government and I honestly wonder why none of Corbyn's rivals have adopted it. If selling off rental property at knock down prices is such a great idea it would be a shame just to restrict it to Councils and Housing Associations. Surely, private landlords would want to share in this great opportunity to advance the nation's economy. I mean if you believe in a property owning democracy then you would want everyone owning a single property just a few people owning a lot of property would you not ?

Yes, it shines a light on the brutal stupidity of selling off council housing.

If he was really smart, he would restrict it to ex-LA stock. A much stronger moral argument, plus it would directly affect some Tory MP's that would give targets for a media campaign.

[byron78]

Go back to Russia.

When did Russia introduce this policy then?

[Dorkins]

He's got my vote. Now, where did I put that £3?

Yep, already paid my 3 quid. The cost of a pint to troll the Establishment, bargain.

[porca misèria]

Yep, already paid my 3 quid. The cost of a pint to troll the Establishment, bargain.

Aren't they backpedalling on that? Take your money but declare you unfit to vote if they suspect you might be ... um ... looking to troll the Establishment?

Sounds like fraud to me: taking your money under false pretences. Who's going to drag them through the courts? Though I daresay they'll return it if they think there's a remotely credible threat of you taking them to court, so only the little man stands to lose.

[WideAsleep]

I am very impressed with Corbyn. When I first saw his interview on the Sunday Marr propaganda show, he was talking about renationalising everything. I sat and listened instead of turning the TV off which is my usual response to someone getting a bit communist. I was very impressed with the argument for it.

Now he comes out with this and I find myself becoming worryingly attracted to the labour party.

[billybong]

Link below for those who want to register and vote

http://

www.labour.org.uk/blog/entry/how-to-vote-for-our-next-leader-and-deputy-leader

Posting the link isn't a recommendation one way or another (apart from anything else he seemingly wants to stay in the eu so would he abide by a referendum No vote if he got in power) but I am in favour of real transparency and real/direct democracy (and the opportunity to vote on things including leaders) and in that regard have found the constituents of the LibLabCon to be particularly disappointing over the years with their repeatedly reneging on promises.

Edited August 8, 2015 by billybong

[porca misèria]

I wonder if Corbyn (and Trump) are in fact the next logical stage in the world's disillusionment with the Establishment?

We've seen the rise of the likes of Farage and LePen. Regional parties have got a big boost by playing up "we're different": the SNP in Blighty being a recent biggie, but also the likes of Italy's Northern League have been there for a while.

Maybe the next logical step is to see the likes of Corbyn and Trump rise in traditional parties of government. Where will it eventually lead?

[stormymonday_2011]

Leaving aside the fact that the idea is being floated by a left winger such as Corbyn about whom I am highly sceptical I do wonder why it is not taken more seriously. If you don't like big state socialism then surely the ultimate bulwark against it is to give the bulk of the population a reason to defend the principle of property ownership. The only way to achieve that end is to ensure that most people have ability in their lifetime to own property. If you create a society where all property ends up in the hands of just a few people and the majority are excluded from ownership then that is hardly likely to happen. The problem with Cameron's housing policy like is that simply shifting ownership of housing from the public sector into private hands no longer achieves that end. Instead it has just become a conduit for putting many public assets into the hand of private landlords via the intermediary of a sitting tenant who exercises a right to buy at a discount and then cashes in by selling the asset on. The problem for the Conservatives is that a policy that looks like a short term vote winner could be fatal to their party in the long term. I think Osborne realises that risk though Cameron may not.

Edited August 8, 2015 by stormymonday_2011

[BalancedBear]

It seems a crazy policy, just the same way that selling off council homes is crazy under the current right to buy policy. If people want to buy a home they can buy from those on the open market. Hang on a moment, there are not enough in the open market. Right to buy policies don't appear to lead to further supply. This forum appears to be full of people with socialist ideology rather than actually wanting to see more supply and lower population growth. Mr Corbyn is in favour of unfettered immigration where everyone is allocated a government funded council house. He claims there is failure in the housing market. There is and it is called the planning system, and the immigration system, both government run systems that are causing a shortfall in housing in most places where people want to live.

Edited August 8, 2015 by BalancedBear

[Dorkins]

It seems a crazy policy, just the same way that selling off council homes is crazy under the current right to buy policy. If people want to buy a home they can buy from those on the open market. Hang on a moment, there are not enough in the open market. Right to buy policies don't appear to lead to further supply. This forum appears to be full of people with socialist ideology rather than actually wanting to see more supply and lower population growth. Mr Corbyn is in favour of unfettered immigration where everyone is allocated a government funded council house. He claims there is failure in the housing market. There is and it is called the planning system, and the immigration system, both government run systems that are causing a shortfall in housing in most places where people want to live.

It's fine, yes Corbynism is not a coherent platform for government but I'd rather have a bit of chaos than a well-disciplined system in which I and my descendants have no choice but to slog away for little reward while a new aristocracy farms us for rents.

[Guest_northshore_*]

It seems a crazy policy, just the same way that selling off council homes is crazy under the current right to buy policy. If people want to buy a home they can buy from those on the open market. Hang on a moment, there are not enough in the open market. Right to buy policies don't appear to lead to further supply. This forum appears to be full of people with socialist ideology rather than actually wanting to see more supply and lower population growth. Mr Corbyn is in favour of unfettered immigration where everyone is allocated a government funded council house. He claims there is failure in the housing market. There is and it is called the planning system, and the immigration system, both government run systems that are causing a shortfall in housing in most places where people want to live.

They can buy one on the market, which just happens to consist of a non-open market in land. It's a crazy policy if you're a landowner, not so much otherwise. This forum is also full of people with homeownerist ideology who seem surprised that collectively getting Government to exclude others from land and means of production, while keeping/collecting economic rents, might one day start provoking backlash. Changes to planning and immigration have little to do with housing affordability.

[Bear Goggles]

It's fine, yes Corbynism is not a coherent platform for government but I'd rather have a bit of chaos than a well-disciplined system in which I and my descendants have no choice but to slog away for little reward while a new aristocracy farms us for rents.

This comment sums up the mood of the young and economically marginalised I think. It's what 20+ years of TINA (There Is No Alternative) have resulted in.

The need for an alternative to the current direction of travel is now so strong that people are latching on to anyone who can coherently communicate one.

Those who say Corbyn will make Labour less electable are probably correct, packing halls with 1000 fans doesn't prove you're electable. But the Blairites comparing this to 1983 have misjudged the mood of the times. 83 was the beginning of the neoliberal consensus, we are now approaching the end.

I don't know how this is all going to play out, but I'm starting to look forward to the next 5 years. If Labour disintegrate into a party of protest, then the Tories will be the only party of the establishment. In the short term they may gloat, but with growing discontent and a wafer thin majority, they will have to prove to the electorate that they are making the country a place where people feel they are getting a fair crack of the whip, or else they risk more discontent and driving a more and more unpredictable political landscape.

[Bear Goggles]

It's fine, yes Corbynism is not a coherent platform for government but I'd rather have a bit of chaos than a well-disciplined system in which I and my descendants have no choice but to slog away for little reward while a new aristocracy farms us for rents.

I should add that your attitude probably qualifies you as a Trotskyite.

[billybong]

Everything in the UK seems to be a self serving but chaotic hotch potch organised by the LibLabCon Trotskys - except the banking bailouts seem to have been pretty well organised without the usual chaos. Under those circumstances a bit more farce and even some beyond the mainstream policies at least have some entertainment value - and for that reason alone could be worth voting for.

Edited August 9, 2015 by billybong

[EUBanana]

How is suggesting someone without an asset has the right to privately buy an asset from another who is hoarding them communist?

It plainly isn't but I'm sure they'll find a way to brand it such.

Because you're forcing the guy to sell presumably. Forcing someone to sell something who doesn't want to sell it is tantamount to theft. And actually very communist, it's how the commies took control of the means of production - by seizing it, sometimes with compensation. But a forced sale clearly isn't the true value though, as otherwise it wouldn't be forced but a deal freely entered into.

Edited August 9, 2015 by EUBanana