New Labours Dream On Housing Collapses

[laurejon]

New Labours Plan to fleece the public with 50/50 deals first directed at public service workers has floundered, overpriced, unnatractive, unsaleable.

Yet another cockup from the wanna be Champagne Socialists, intent on creating a landscape of Ghetto's found in Russia, and other Communist Nations.

John Prescott's scheme to provide affordable housing for key public sector workers in high-cost areas has been effectively ditched following the disclosure to parliament last month that more than half the homes built for sale remained empty.

The £725 million key worker living programme, championed by the Deputy Prime Minister at its launch, was intended to ensure that nurses, teachers, policemen, social workers and other vital public employees on relatively low salaries were given access to affordable homes, particularly in London and the South East.

But yesterday the Housing Corporation, the quango which oversees the scheme, said restrictions on the kind of worker entitled to apply for the properties were being dropped.

Anyone living in social housing or entered on a waiting list for social housing will be eligible to buy unsold flats and houses, as well as properties due to be built in the next two years.

The decision, revealed in a leak to the magazine Inside Housing, follows criticism about the size, quality and particularly the location of the homes on offer, as well as their sometimes very high price.

People in the key worker category were said to be unhappy about the prospect of living in public sector "ghettoes", in often unattractive areas, with some flats costing over £200,000.

In a parliamentary answer published last month, the Government disclosed that only 615 out of 1,393 houses built for sale to key workers had been sold, despite offers of loans or low-cost "part-buy, part-rent" arrangements. In contrast, there was strong demand for the 1,424 properties built for rent, with 1,201 taken up.

[Justice]

"was intended to ensure that nurses, teachers, policemen, social workers and other vital public employees on relatively low salaries were given access to affordable homes, particularly in London and the South East."

social workers are not vital and police are far from under paid.

I hope the allocation of these houses are monitored to ensure that they are not racist when they give them out to people because past history has shown this to be the case when it comes to social housing and you can fill the blanks yourself.

[Blackholeshine]

Hybrid property ownership/tenancy schemes can only go down as well as a new type of pet designed a genetics corporation which is half cat and half dog. They think it will be popular because surely it will appeal to both cat owners and dog owners when in reality is appeals to no one.

[DoubleBubbleTrouble]

Interesting story although it doesn't have some of the details.

There were two schemes that Prescott's mob were pushing;

1. Key worker living

2. HomeBuy (with 3 variations on it)

The former seems to have been rolled in the latter recently. It would be interesting to know which one this article is related to.

FYI the list of key workers;

• Clinical NHS staff (with the exception of doctors and dentists);
  
• Teachers and nursery nurses in schools and further education/sixth form colleges;
  
• Police officers, Community Support Officers and some civilian staff;
  
• Prison Service staff in certain prisons
  
• Probation Service staff;
  
• Social workers, nursery nurses, educational psychologists, and therpists (e.g. occupational therapists) employed by local authorities or the NHS;
  
• Local Authority Planners and
  
• Firefighters and other uniformed staff below principal level in Fire and Rescue Services.
  

Edited May 20, 2006 by DoubleBubbleTrouble

[laurejon]

From my point of view just like the 60k house its another case of smoke and mirrors designed to fool the public at large.

The projects intention was to make it acceptable to pay over the odds for a box, and only have a half share, even the land was leased.

If it took off in the public sector and became the norm to own a half share, then the hope was it would become commonplace.

This strategy would enable to Government to take a large share in house price inflation, and perpetuate for a period of time the property boom, both were in the Governments interests. The long term effects on the economy would be irrelevent, Labour are in office to roll out their interpretation of socilism, and in order to continue they need to stay in office. If house prices tank, then for sure they will lose the election and their background policies, which they consider the most important, and on which little is reported would cease.

Like a magician, the public have been watching their right hand, and have not been watching the slight of hand with the left.

[Antsy]

social workers are not vital

Hmm, if you were a kid on the 'at risk' register, you might disagree. In my opinion as a keyworker, many properties are unsold because they are unsuitable for anyone but single people. I'm on the local housing association's mailing list and all they have on offer are one and two bed flats with no outside space - useless if you have children (and with the drive to recruit career changers who tend to be older this will become more and more of a problem). The 100% price of each property is also not exctly competitive.

[laurejon]

Hmm, if you were a kid on the 'at risk' register, you might disagree

Ask yourself why we now have so many of these cases and you are halfway there to solving the problem of having to employ armies of Social Workers to run peoples lives.

[Rain'ard]

Of course Nu Labour’s housing schemes are going to flop, they keep playing the profiteers game. What could any any government do to sort this mess. Intervene? Make people reduce prices? No, of course not that would be seen as even more big brother style tactics. This government does only what the last governments do, s**t on the ordinary people of this country. I can’t imagine the Tories not joining Americas to enter Iraq, nor could I envisage them not going along whole heartedly with this free enterprise based housing market. So why don’t you get real Laurejon and spare us of your party political broadcasts.

[Realistbear]

This will be a lasting legacy of Gordon "Miracle Economy" Brown's vision of everlasting HPI and unlimited MEW: bloated house prices beyond the point of affordability that has thrown millions into enslavement to debt and a life of no hope of ever owning a simple necessity of life-a home of their own.

The "miracle" is that Gordon has managed to fool so many people for so long.

[laurejon]

Of course Nu Labour’s housing schemes are going to flop, they keep playing the profiteers game. What could any any government do to sort this mess. Intervene? Make people reduce prices? No, of course not that would be seen as even more big brother style tactics. This government does only what the last governments do, s**t on the ordinary people of this country. I can’t imagine the Tories not joining Americas to enter Iraq, nor could I envisage them not going along whole heartedly with this free enterprise based housing market. So why don’t you get real Laurejon and spare us of your party political broadcasts.

I think you have a short memory, or is it just selective.

The Tories would most certainly have put up interest rates long ago, the Tories make the hard descisions and live with them. In Tory land, they live by their word, talk is cheap.

For sure they paid the price in losing an election, but the public will soon be looking back and asking themselves if the Tories were bad having a trade surplus after an economic meltdown, having ceased house price inflation and making homes affordable for all, then why oh why did I vote for the Labour Party.

You are wrong about Iraq, the Tories would have had the so called damming evidence in their own hands and would have seen right through it for the pack of lies it was.

Tony Blair assured the house prior to the vote that the evidence was damming,current, a very real threat to national security. The MP's voted on the Integrity of Tony Blair as prime minister to tell the truth. Unfortunately not content with just lying to the public, he decided he would lie to the house as well.

[mpd]

Am I the only one who wonders that when our politicians have very valuable property portfolios themselves, how strong their resolve is to actually do anything about the current situation?

Personally I think that behind the scenes Labour may be quite happy with a stint as the opposition, to hand all their problems over to a new leadership and stand back and gloat as the debt problem unwinds, the housing market freefalls, the FTSE retreats to 4000....

[Guest mattsta1964]

This will be a lasting legacy of Gordon "Miracle Economy" Brown's vision of everlasting HPI and unlimited MEW: bloated house prices beyond the point of affordability that has thrown millions into enslavement to debt and a life of no hope of ever owning a simple necessity of life-a home of their own.

The "miracle" is that Gordon has managed to fool so many people for so long.

A perfect summary!!

The greatest crime in a modern society is to deprive hard working people who pay into the system the right to own an affordable home.

But seeing as the whole economic system of the UK is so tied up by the housing market, the outlook for future generations is very grim. A truly dire situation. Gordon Brown can't be held singularly responsible though. The roots of the problem go back to the get rich quick, spiv culture promoted by Thatcher.

I'm not a socialist. I am not anti entrepreneurial. I'm not against people being rich providing they pay a fair contribution in taxes (which of course, they don't). But to have allowed the housing market to become a get rich quick scheme for those fortunate enough to invest in multi-property ownership is a monumental crime. A crime which is now disenfranchising 100,000's people in this country.

The UK's worst export isn't football hooligans and yobs. It's exporting this same greed across Europe and depriving natives in Spain, France and god knows where else the opportunity of home ownership too.

[StrapInThisIsGoingToHurt]

Just anecdotally: I work in a school with 85 teaching colleagues and educational support staff. Not one has fallen for the con of "shared ownership" or "Key Worker Homes." Several potential FTBs are doing what I'm doing: not buying.

The word is spreading.

[Rain'ard]

I think you have a short memory, or is it just selective.

The Tories would most certainly have put up interest rates long ago, the Tories make the hard descisions and live with them. In Tory land, they live by their word, talk is cheap.

For sure they paid the price in losing an election, but the public will soon be looking back and asking themselves if the Tories were bad having a trade surplus after an economic meltdown, having ceased house price inflation and making homes affordable for all, then why oh why did I vote for the Labour Party.

You are wrong about Iraq, the Tories would have had the so called damming evidence in their own hands and would have seen right through it for the pack of lies it was.

Tony Blair assured the house prior to the vote that the evidence was damming,current, a very real threat to national security. The MP's voted on the Integrity of Tony Blair as prime minister to tell the truth. Unfortunately not content with just lying to the public, he decided he would lie to the house as well.

My memory is not short enough to remember Norman Lamont, and the Tories record on macro economics has been abysmal, if take into account other factors than house prices or interest rates. So the Tories would have risen interest rates to 5.0 % to cull the housing market while the rest of the world held theirs down.

Mrs Thatcher allowed the Americans to invade a sovereign British island Granada at the same time we were dealing with the Falklands. So the Tories foreign policies were nothing to be admired.

[laurejon]

Thatcher brought house prices down...............Overnight...............50% drops.

So how can you state that the Tories created this scheme.

The Labour Party noted that Thatcher lost the election when people lost money on their houses, so they deduced that for so long as people made paper profits on houses, they would be re-elected. I too saw this some time ago.

I can therefore predict with confidence, when house prices fall...............New Labour will not win another election, you just wait and see.

[Dames]

.......The Labour Party noted that Thatcher lost the election when people lost money on their houses, so they deduced that for so long as people made paper profits on houses, they would be re-elected. I too saw this some time ago.........

Exactly what I've been saying to people for years.

Polls show concern about this and that , health , crime etc , but what you say above is , imho , what people are most concerned about but wont say it in public.

D

[right_freds_dead]

yeah lauriejohn. lets hope the tories are voted in soon and they can out an end to this madness.

i am sure they will have a fair and just plan to combat all this profiteering...??

what is it ?

do YOU know ?

i havent heard anything from cameron yet.

[MRMX9]

Why extend the scheme only to housing association and council tenants - its disgusting. After getting years of subidised rents they now will get a state subsidy to help them buy. Priority for nurses, policemen, teachers fine - but after that all first time buyers should have an equal chance of accessing these schemes!

So much for the first time buyer mugs in rented accommodation paying market rents (4 times the council rents in London) who can't get onto the market! Many of them would have been better off having 3 kids before they were 20 and getting a council house

[patprimer74]

You are wrong about Iraq, the Tories would have had the so called damming evidence in their own hands and would have seen right through it for the pack of lies it was.

Check the evidence, laura. The Tories insisted that the government invade Iraq WITHOUT any further evidence, whatsoever. They were a hundred times more belligerent than Labour but, of course, the Tories have always been happy to send others to die for their country while they stay at home profiteering.

p

Edited May 20, 2006 by patprimer74

[Righteous]

The Labour Party noted that Thatcher lost the election when people lost money on their houses, so they deduced that for so long as people made paper profits on houses, they would be re-elected.

So true and the selfishness of the Labour party to cling on to power for as long as possible has condemned millions of its fellow countrymen to a lifetime of debt to prop them up.

So the chav Labour voters are going to get what they deserve at last. Unfortunately though, decent people are going to be collateral damage.

[Rain'ard]

So true and the selfishness of the Labour party to cling on to power for as long as possible has condemned millions of its fellow countrymen to a lifetime of debt to prop them up.

So the chav Labour voters are going to get what they deserve at last. Unfortunately though, decent people are going to be collateral damage.

the grabbers around me don't seem to be Labour, Those about to loose out in a future crash if ever are just generic Greedy b*****s

[mongoose]

GF is a teacher in London and wants/wanted to buy - but she can't afford to on her own.

As we live together there is no chance we will be buying in the near future as I refuse to.

I am busy saving, investing and placing quite large wagers on a tory win in the next general election - at just over evens this will be great value as house prices implode.

Politicians are all as bad as each other, but Labour have really pushed this generation against them.

[Elizabeth]

"was intended to ensure that nurses, teachers, policemen, social workers and other vital public employees on relatively low salaries were given access to affordable homes, particularly in London and the South East."

social workers are not vital and police are far from under paid.

I hope the allocation of these houses are monitored to ensure that they are not racist when they give them out to people because past history has shown this to be the case when it comes to social housing and you can fill the blanks yourself.

oh please. social workers? say that to abused kids no worries. you will be the first to jup up and down if there are any kids die because of a lack of the.

police far fro underpaid? there have been two dead feal cops in the last 3 onths and god knows how any ale ones since they don"t ake the news. and all for under 30k - you wouldn't get a decent 2 bed flat in london for under 240K.

as for immigrants, no, wtf? we are talking about thousands of empty properties??? most govt initiatives are based on smoke and mirrors particularly with housing. keyworkers liked social rents (which if used as a yield basis to price the market would almost certainly cut the value of the property by 60%). they didn't like overpriced morgage arrangements. hence, keyworkers, irrespective of colour culture ethnicity have simply proved themselves NOT THAT GULLIBLE!

[Righteous]

the grabbers around me don't seem to be Labour, Those about to loose out in a future crash if ever are just generic Greedy b*****s

Sorry mate you got me wrong, I mean that Labour voters inflicted this government that has brought us the biggest boom and bust in history upon us. So I hope there are plenty of Labour voters in negative equity very soon.

As you say though there are plenty of generic Greedy b*****s about too !!