Oh My God ! Did I Hear That Correctly Housing

[GAL BEAR]

Sorry this has kind of already been posted but I just had to post again....

On 'MORE 4 ' after LOCATION, LOCATION KIRSTY & PHIL interviewed HOUSING MINISTER Caroline Flint.

I have a transcipt for you here ...................typed in CAPS to save my poor little fingers......

Amazingly as they were talking to her the following headlines flashed accross the screen.

"HOUSE PRICES FALL AT THE FASTED RATE FOR 16 YEARS "

"UK MORTGAGE LEVELS FALL 56 % TO A NEW LOW"

"AVAILABLE MORTAGE PRODUCTS FALL BY 76%"

PHIL: IN OUR QUEST TO BRING YOU THE LATEST ON THE PROPERTY MARKET WE HAVE GONE TO THE VERY TOP

KIRSTY: YES, WE WERE GRANTED AN AUDIENCE WITH THE HOUSING MINISTER 'CAROLINE FLINT'

AND WE ARE PUTTING HER ON THE SPOT HOPING TO GET ANSWERS ABOUT PROPERTY............

KIRSTY: To the minster

OUR ECONOMY IS BASED PERHAPS MORE THAN ANY OTHER ON OUR CONFIDENCE IN THE VALUE OF THE

ROOF OVER OUR HEAD AND AT THE MOMENT IT FEELS A BIT 'RUDDERLESS'THAT EVERYONE'S IN CRISIS

AND DEPRESSED OVER IT. WHAT CAN THE GOVERNMENT DO TO RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN THE MARKET?

FLINT: CLEARLY, YOU KNOW WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS RECOGNISE WHERE WE ARE AND REALISE THAT THE

HOUSING MARKET IS VERY DIFFERENT TO WHAT IT WAS A YEAR AGO. (At this statement KIRSTY

Looked extremely 'pained' as if this exactly what she didn't want to hear)

KIRSTY: HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU THINK THE 100 MILLION £'S THAT THE CHANCELLOR HAS PUT INTO THE

MARKET CAN HELP?[/color]

FLINT: WELL SO FAR WE HAVE HELPED 110 THOUSAND OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS AND ARE LOOKING TO

HELP ANOTHER 75 THOUSAND OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS (very pained expression from KIRSTY at

this statement) AND I HAVE ANNOUNCED SOME EXPANSION TO THAT PROGRAMME FOR THIS YEAR.

PHIL; THE NUMBER OF HOUSES BEING BUILT IS A REALLY DIFFICULT ONE AT THE MOMENT

(these two are so dopey it is unbeleivable, don't they realise the more houses are built the more

house prices will fall, this is exactly what these two DON'T want!)

PHIL: WE NEED 60 THOUSAND HOUSES BUILT, THE REALITY IS ONLY 4O THOUSAND ARE BEING BUILT.FLINT (Laughing

nervously) I LOOK AT THE SAME STATISTICS (yes we know that you showed the whole world your STATS a

couple ] months back when you 'forgot' to put them in your briefcase)

AS EVERYONE ELSE AND CLEARLY THERE IS A SLOWDOWN

REGARDLESS OF THE CREDIT CRUNCH WE HAVE HAD AN UNDERSUPPLY OF HOUSING IN

THIS COUNTRY A NEED THAT HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE HIGH COST OF HOUSING

(no it hasn't Caroline, reckless lending and ramping property progammes have done more

to cause it than lack of housing!)

FLINT: I AM TRYING TO THINK OF A WAY IN WHICH I CAN STIMULATE THAT BUILDING MARKET, WE NEED

TO GET BUILDERS BUILDING, MAYBE GIVE THEM SOME MONEY UP FRONT FOR THEIR INITIAL

COSTS WHERE THEY ARE BUILDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO GET THEIR

CASHFLOW GOING (oh gooody that will help prices fall even further!)

KIRSTY: THE GOVERNMENT HAS COME UP WITH 50 BILLION POUNDS, YET WE STILL AREN'T IN THE POSITION

WHERE THE BASE RATE AND ACTUAL AVERAGE INTEREST RATE THAT YOU GET FROM THE

LENDER HAVE GOT ANY KIND OF PARITY AT ALL. (Kirsty starts to look like she is almost

losing it at this point and Flint looks a bit nervous).

PHIL: WHAT ARE THE BANKS DOING? ARE THEY DOING ENOUGH ?

FLINT: YOU KNOW IT IS COMPLICATED. PEOPLE OBVIOUSLY HAD EXPECTATION THAT THE MONEY FROM THE

BANK OF ENGLAND WOULD IMMEDIATLEY HELP LOWER INTEREST RATES BUT THE TROUBLE WAS

THAT THE 'INTERBANK' RATE THAT I HAVE LEARNT MORE AND MORE ABOUT OVER THE LAST FEW

MONTHS (she laughs nervously again)...........................................,

KIRSTY: HAVN'T WE ALL !

FLINT: ......................THAT ACTUALLY CREATES THE PRODUCTS THAT HELPS PEOPLE TO GET ON THE

PROPERTY LADDER..........WELL THAT INTERBANK RATE HAS SEIZED UP...........

FLINT: MAYBE THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WILL COME OUT OF THIS THAT WILL GIVE US A MORE

SUSTAINABLE APPROACH, BOTH IN BUILDING AND LENDING IN THE FUTURE.

I WOULDN'T HAVE WISHED THE CREDIT CRUNCH ON US............... (Kirsty & Phil laugh in a

kind of half-shocked at what she is saying way

I WOULD LIKE TO PUT THAT ON THE RECORD, BUT

MAYBE SOMETIMES OUT OF ADVERSITY YOU CAN GET SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT A DIFFERENT

WAY OF DOING THINGS IN THE FUTURE.

PHIL: (Simpering) THATS EXTREMELY HELPFUL AND USEFUL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH MINISTER.

FLINT: NO THANK YOU PHIL, THANK YOU KIRSTY ! [/color]

Well there you have it. Reading between the lines sounds like FLIINT was saying......

"THE MARKETS' F***ED AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING TO STOP IT BECOMING MORE F***ED.

APART FROM THROW A BIT OF EXTRA MONEY AT BUILDERS WHICH WILL HELP MAKE MORE HOUSES AVAILABLE WHICH WILL BRING THE HOUSING MARKET DOWN EVEN MORE.

PRICES WILL CARRY ON FALLING AND WHEN THEY HAVE REACHED ROCK BOTTOM WE WILL MAKE SURE THOSE BLOODY BANKS REIGN THEIR LENDING IN AND STOP THIS EVER HAPPENING AGAIN"

Well that was my 'take' on it anyway.

The dreadful duo were interesting to watch during the interview. PHIL Looked quite calm and collected if very

'smarmy' KIRSTY however looked bordering slightly on the edge of anger and was sweating slightly.

By the way KIRSTY is preggers again by the look of it !

Edited July 9, 2008 by GAL BEAR

[Not Long Now]

Good job - although im not too sure which is worse, Flint or Allsop

[ursus darling]

Anyone got a link? Youtube upload?

[Not Long Now]

Anyone got a link? Youtube upload?

Coooorrr blimey guvnor.....the poor girl has just typed it all out.

All in good time dear boy, all in good time

[Fergie]

Good God.

Reading that, I have a picture in my head of three kid's TV character types, you know the kind with bright jump suits that have their names sewn into them with coloured feltl, or maybe just C, K and P, not even the whole name. I mean, the entire discussion is that level. All it needs is for Caroline Flint to end it by saying, we know a song about that, don't we boys and girls and for them all to break into song...

It misses so many points and is just so wrong. But the funny thing is that it's wrong because they're being strangled with their own rope. They have no choice but to carry on with the nonsense about "Lack of supply" and "how do we get them building again?" when the problem is the opposite, and - as you say - building more, especially more affordable housing will bring down prices. What they desperately want to - need to - say is blody hell, how are you going to save the housing market and stop prices falling to which the clear answer is we can't and won't do that and they all know it, but they can't admit it, and don't seem to understand what's happened and what is still happening. Put the lot of them on Playschool and have done with it.

[Fergie]

The Housing Minister had not heard of the interbank lending rate!

I dont know which is more alarming: she hadn't heard of it; ir she was willing to admit on national TV she hadn't heard of it.

[GAL BEAR]

I think MS FLINT made it quite clear she is not going to lose any sleep over the bloody housing market.

She is probably of the opinion that someone else caused the bloody mess so why should she do anything to try and

sort it out.

Ovbioulsy she KNOWS that she musn't do anything to 'ramp' it further cos that will just delay the invevitable 'pain'.

KIRSTY must know she is basically 'stuffed' maybe that is why she has got properly 'stuffed' again in the true sense of the word so quickly after baby number one was only born a few months ago I believe....... 'BAY ATLAS' was the poor little sods name wasn't it ?

Edited July 9, 2008 by GAL BEAR

[Fergie]

'BAY ATLAS' was the poor little sods name wasn't it ?

THat sounds like a make of caravan, so it may turn out to be quite appropriate.

[GAL BEAR]

I dont know which is more alarming: she hadn't heard of it or she was willing to admit on national TV she hadn't heard of it.

YES, I was amazed at that statement.

I have to say though I quite warmed to MS FLINT after this interview. She came accross as a bit disarminlgy ditzy but not at all sancamonious if you know what I mean.

Unlike most politicians she didn't answer a question with a question or go off the subject, she seemed frighteningly honest but trying to be diplomatic. It was a refreshing change.

She is quite an attractive lady too, far too pretty to be a politician, God that does sound sexist doesn't it ?

Sorry ! But its true, you have to wonder why she ever bothered going into politics with all its hassle when she probably could have got a far more sensible job as an air hostess or working behind the make up counter at DEBENHAMS !!!

[GAL BEAR]

Does anyone know how to post a 'link' for this as I don't know how to

It is well worth a look to see the terrible duo squirm !

[yellerkat]

It'll be at THIS LINK... at some stage.

[rentboy]

I do not mind Caroline Flint, I find her refreshingly honest also, a friend of mine had a briefing with her not so long ago and was impressed by her forthrightness and frankness.

What you have to remember is this has been a huge, unprecedented fraud on a national scale with very few parties not complicit.

The fact is that the half-truths used to explain away what has been going on no longer holds water, if Caroline Flint is playing with a straighter bat than most politicians she should be applauded.

A lack of specific market knowledge in areas like LIBOR before this situation broke does not necessarily mean she is out of her depth, or that she is incompetent in my opinion. It just shows how deep the cancer is and how painful it will be to remove.

Lets face it, apart from a few nutters around and about on here and elsewhere the main issues facing housing were not a question of containing a collapse, more a question of an acute supply shortage.

People get briefed by the likes of Barker and they listen to what is said by an expert, why shouldn't they?

Members of housepricecrash should be applauded on their analyses but even then, many of us called it far too early and for some they capitulated and bought. This boom has been beyond absurd in its scale and the unwinding is going to be equally ground-breaking.

If Caroline Flint is honest in a TV interview with those two shameless rampers rather than be criticised she should get an HPC honorary membership I think.

[the anti krust]

It sounds like an episode of Mary, Mungo and Midge FFS

Has Flint enrolled at college to learn about this Interbank thingymajig?

Or is she still monitoring the situation?

At least she's on the peoples side.

Are we (UK) the laughing stock of Europe?

What the fvck is the next few weeks/months going to bring us?

As a previous poster once put it (RB) I think, think yourself lucky to be alive to witness all this.

[GAL BEAR]

It'll be at THIS LINK... at some stage.

Thanks YELLERCAT !

[YoungFTB]

Good God.

Reading that, I have a picture in my head of three kid's TV character types, you know the kind with bright jump suits that have their names sewn into them with coloured feltl, or maybe just C, K and P, not even the whole name. I mean, the entire discussion is that level. All it needs is for Caroline Flint to end it by saying, we know a song about that, don't we boys and girls and for them all to break into song...

It misses so many points and is just so wrong. But the funny thing is that it's wrong because they're being strangled with their own rope. They have no choice but to carry on with the nonsense about "Lack of supply" and "how do we get them building again?" when the problem is the opposite, and - as you say - building more, especially more affordable housing will bring down prices. What they desperately want to - need to - say is blody hell, how are you going to save the housing market and stop prices falling to which the clear answer is we can't and won't do that and they all know it, but they can't admit it, and don't seem to understand what's happened and what is still happening. Put the lot of them on Playschool and have done with it.

Classic dumbed down broadcasting and the sad truth is the sheep will believe it

[VacantPossession]

This is the blind leading the blind. Banal, and lacking in basic intelligence, the questions and answers indicate one thing: All three people have absolutely no grasp of housing, the economy or even basic mathematics. Why even bother to highlight them?

VP

[oracle]

By the way KIRSTY is preggers again by the look of it !

No ,just lots of comfort-eating