Conservative conference: Johnson on 'broken' housing market

[Borchester]

Council direct Labour!?!?
You must have had it better than London. Lazy and long winded, and costly to the local authority, was the usual experience. That's why things improved when most services were bought in — don't know about the rest of the country, though...

Yes. Things may have been different in Wales, but in my borough you didn't get a job on the direct Labour force unless your name was Paddy and you were a member of the Labour party. And they did sod all slowly.

Edited by Forum Admin. Reason: moderation

[patman post]

that is why where there were once tens of thousands of council owned properties serviced by a direct labour organisation, bringing employment and decent pensions to tens of thousands of craftsmen, oday there are absolutely sod all and private companies and rich bastards like blair own all the social housing and collect the housing benefit for it.

Council direct Labour!?!?
You must have had it better than London. Lazy and long winded, and costly to the local authority, was the usual experience. That's why things improved when most services were bought in — don't know about the rest of the country, though...

[papasmurf]

round here she actually BANNED councils from putting the money they collected from subsidised council house sales into rebuilding.

That ban applied nationally.  Which is why the very low numbers of council houses built since.

[johnofgwent]

Margaret thatcher built more council houses than any of the last three labour governments.

Labour opposed the snp in scotland ending the right to buy council houses .

So it seems labour are doctrinally opposed to it too.

when did she do that ?

round here she actually BANNED councils from putting the money they collected from subsidised council house sales into rebuilding.

that is why where there were once tens of thousands of council owned properties serviced by a direct labour organisation, bringing employment and decent pensions to tens of thousands of craftsmen, oday there are absolutely sod all and private companies and rich bastards like blair own all the social housing and collect the housing benefit for it.

[papasmurf]

Throwing out inefficiency and Nimbyism in favour of getting a much needed job done seems a good move — but words are fine, it's action that's needed...

I suspect a lot of action if Tories in Tory heartlands get ridden over roughshod when planning regulations are thrown in the bin and no means of objection exists.

[patman post]

The Tories are in the process of binning them, and kicking their voter base in the teeth in the process.

Throwing out inefficiency and Nimbyism in favour of getting a much needed job done seems a good move — but words are fine, it's action that's needed...

[papasmurf]

Revising the long-winded planning rules,

The Tories are in the process of binning them, and kicking their voter base in the teeth in the process.

[patman post]

It doesn't matter what party is in power, once a government has been released from regularly funding a benefit or service, successor governments are going to be unwilling to reinstate that support unless there's overriding political and electoral benefit.

Subsidised housing, like many other services, seems to have been largely outsourced to Housing Associations which have often proved as ineffective as commercial developers in providing reasonable homes for those who need them most — by sitting on land and unrenovated buildings, and moving too slowly

More homes are needed in total. The more houses available, the less expensive they need be. Revising the long-winded planning rules, and limiting the amount of time buildings and land remain unused will help. Many local planning committees make the process seem expensive, long-winded and inefficient. Why block modern building techniques — bricks and mortar are fine, but why not use other materials proven elsewhere — it's not like current UK building regs require high standards of space, insulation, sound-proofing, etc.
Let's hope this is one improvement the Tories can make...

[Thomas]

But Thatcher didn't replace the one's sold under the right to buy.

Neither did your labour party heroes.

[papasmurf]

So why are you burbling on about the problem being due to the sale of council housing?

If there are 1000 council houses and the council sells a 100 of them, then you have 900 council tenants and 100 owner occupiers.

But you still have a total of 1000 houses. The only difference is that some of the occupants are paying rent and others are paying mortgages.

I am afraid your simplistic view is not the current reality.  There is a housing emergency and that can only be cured quickly by council housing.
Where I live new housing is 17 times the local wage. (Which is £100 a week below the national average.)
"Affordable housing" for sale is not possible where I live and in many other areas of Britain.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51605912

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-46788530

[Borchester]

It hasn't, the waiting list for council housing is up to nine years.
An analysis of the problem:-
https://news.files.bbci.co.uk/include/newsspec/pdfs/bbc-briefing-housing-newsspec-26534.pdf

So why are you burbling on about the problem being due to the sale of council housing?

If there are 1000 council houses and the council sells a 100 of them, then you have 900 council tenants and 100 owner occupiers.

But you still have a total of 1000 houses. The only difference is that some of the occupants are paying rent and others are paying mortgages.

[papasmurf]

Not if the number of council tenants has been decreased by the aforementioned council tenants buying their own homes

It hasn't, the waiting list for council housing is up to nine years.
An analysis of the problem:-
https://news.files.bbci.co.uk/include/newsspec/pdfs/bbc-briefing-housing-newsspec-26534.pdf

[Borchester]

But it isn't council housing. Which is what is badly needed.

Not if the number of council tenants has been decreased by the aforementioned council tenants buying their own homes

[papasmurf]

Which mean that the property is still there and forms part of the overall housing stock.

But it isn't council housing. Which is what is badly needed.

[Borchester]

40% of "right to buy" have ended up on the buy to let market.

Which mean that the property is still there and forms part of the overall housing stock.