http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/14726409.WELCOME_BOOST__Plans_to_build_600_new_homes_revealed/ WELCOME BOOST: Plans to build 600 new homes revealed Magna housing board and directors 600 houses in 5 years. A pathetic gesture which does little to address the acute hosing shortage particularly in the rented sector, in Dorset. Politicians must have the political will to address this scandalous housing crisis, not only in Dorset but in constituencies around the whole country. The solution is for the country to commit to building 800,000 new home over the course of a full parliament where at least 70% of the new homes would be for social housing. For far too l ong, the housing shortage has been used as a means of maintaining high price levels in the housing market and for the price of land, thus condemning many families to the prospect of never being able to afford to purchase or even rent a home of their own. 800,00 homes per year required The recent applicatio...
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http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/30/uk-throes-of--housing-crisis Revealed: UK ‘is in the throes of a housing crisis’ Revealed: UK ‘is in the throes of a housing crisis’. Revealed!? Many of us have been shouting from the rooftops for years that this country has a housing crisis. That crisis has become even worse over the past 20 years and now rates as an national outrage which should not be tolerated by any decent society in this 21st Century. It is a crisis brought about by decades of neglect and indifference by successive governments who have viewed "housing" as a manifesto topic where they can make all sorts of promises and when elected, find all sorts of "reasons" why they are only able to build a fraction of the number of houses and flats actually required. Over the past 6 months, house building organisations, economists and housing charities, have identified contributory factors to the growing crisis. The "right to buy" ...
Over 40% of former council homes now owned by private landlords as housing crisis deepens in the home ownership and rented accommodation sectors. Former council homes sold under Right-to-Buy are being on the private rental market There is a housing crisis in the United Kingdom. The "Right to buy scheme" is just one of the contributing factors. In the early 1980's many of us were predicting the very crisis which we are now experiencing. It is to the eternal shame of successive governments since 1979 right up until today, that hundreds of thousands of people today are unable to afford a home of their own, either owned or rented, due to the high price level of homes for purchase or homes for rent, particularly in the private rental sector. These high prices levels are the consequence of an acute shortage of houses being built, which is the undeniable result of decades of government neglect or even government intention to restrict the house building programme....
“The last five years have seen a low level of house building, less than half the new buildings that are actually needed", Median gross weekly pay for full-time employees, 2014 in West Dorset is £506 (Residency based figures) or £26,312 pa. In Weymouth and Portland the figure is £469 or £24,388 pa. These figures are taken from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2014, Office for National Statistics The reason for reproducing these statistics, is an article in today’s (15th October 2015) “ Independent” under the headline “David Cameron defends 'starter homes' that only the richest can afford”. Now, admittedly he was talking about London where the average house price is £522,000 and adding that his previously quoted figure of “starter homes” at £450,000 was an “upper limit” and he would prefer to see a “starter home” at a significantly lower price. No doubt thousands of people in London would agree with that bit. However, the fact remains th...
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/28/labour-biggest-public-housebuilding-drive-since-1970s Labour considers biggest social house building drive since 70s Why hasn't this happened for 35 years? Successive governments over those years, (and even before then), have had an interest in maintaining a "housing shortage". A shortage in the homes for purchase sector, stimulates demand and thereby increases the price level. Government duplicity in promoting schemes and incentives like right to buy, first time buyer grants,buy to rent,"affordable houses" and the rest are nothing more than a gesture for public consumption and do nothing to address the real problem. In the rented sector, the situation is even more chronic. Local councils have by government directive and some by their own volition, abandoned their historic function of providing rented accommodation within their areas. Many council houses have been s...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/11565524/Housebuilders-hit-by-Ed-Milibands-rent-control-plans.html Labour's housing plans wipe nearly £200m off value of UK home builders Modest plans wipe £200 million off value of Britain's house builders. How strange it is that a political party's plans to assist potential house buyers and to offer some rent controls as relief to those families renting their homes should cause such alarm and despondency among Britain's house building companies as almost £200 million is wiped off the value of their companies. It seems that the possibility of some controls in the housing sector, no matter how modest, can cause such alarm in "the markets" as they contemplate some reductions in their already inflated "margins". What is not strange however, is the fact that a rabid right wing rag such as "The Telegraph" should place such great emphasis on the drop in sha...
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/27/labour-pledge-stamp-duty-house-purchases-first-time-buyers Labour pledges to abolish stamp duty on house purchases for first-time buyers Labour to cut stamp duty on homes under £300k for first time buyers Help for "first time buyers" and curbs on rent increases. Two measures seeking to attract votes but will do nothing to resolve the problem. For Miliband and all of the other politicians paying lip service to the housing crisis with half baked useless cliches, the message is a simple one. Stop fiddling with the margins and address the fundamental issue. We desperately need more housing in all sectors, but especially in the rented sector be it private or social. The parties sho uld commit to (and deliver) 300,000 new homes with at least 80% for rented accommodation built for local authorities or housing associations. The "right to buy" nonsense should be scrapped and the "cap" on r...
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/14/tory-election-manifesto-right-to-buy-housing-association-properties#comment-50412507 David Cameron: "The dream of the property owning democracy is alive, and that the Conservatives “are the party of working people, offering you security at every stage of your life”. The "right to buy" policies of Thatcher some 30 years ago is one of the root causes of the present housing crisis in this country. The fundemental problem of the present crisis is not a matter of being able to buy, but more importantly it is a matter of having sufficient homes for purchase or rent available in the "market". However, zero hour contracts and an overall decline in wages and salaries ability to purchase is a major factor. The sooner that political parties of all persuasions are prepared to ditch their hypocritical cynicism and tackle the problem rather than seek to gain electoral advantage with vague promises and soundbi...
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/06/nick-clegg-george-osborne-is-a-very-dangerous-man Nick Clegg: George Osborne is a very dangerous man Clegg sees the light? It is not a case of Clegg seeing the light, because he always knew that this was the reality. He just wanted the ministerial car, the additional salary, the personal kudos, the seat at the cabinet table and all the other perks of a "coalition honey pot". The real reason for this sudden revelation is that Clegg wants everyone to forget what a lying, duplicitous hypocrite he actually is, who prostituted himself and the party he leads in exchange for the "privileges" of office. Two words sum up Clegg and should be his epitaph. Tuition fees.
http://news.sky.com/story/1458906/tories-pledge-1980s-style-housing-revolution Conservatives promise to get half a million first-time buyers onto the property ladder every year. Another political party, today it is the Conservatives turn, promising to get 500,000 "First time buyers" onto the housing ladder every year. Again the emphasis of out of touch politicians in centered on the "First time buyer" in the hope of attracting votes in exchange for vague promises. No mention is made of those who for what ever reason are unable to even contemplate buying their own home or those who for whatever reason may choose not to buy, but to rent. George Osborne "hard at work" The political bankruptcy of the politicians who pay lip service to the provision of housing while cynically seeking to attract votes is staggering. As I said yesterday when commenting on Miliband's latest offering, "nowhere near enough" an...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/labour-unveils-5bn-plan-to-build-150000-new-homes-funded-by-help-to-buy-isa-scheme-10155240.html Labour plan to build 150,000 new homes. plan to build 150,000 homes by 2020 150,000. No where near enough. The shortage of housing in this country has been an outrage for decades. Families and young people, face the prospect of years living in overcrowded or inadequate conditions as builders and speculators grow rich on providing a few homes at inflated prices while receiving government (tax payers) cash incentives, for building a small number of "low cost" housing. In the rented sector, social housing is practically non existent and in the private market, rental prices are on an ever increasing spiral. In conditions where people have no alternatives for a home, they have no option but to pay the inflated price. Political parties have made capital from this situation ove...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rabbithutch-britain-growing-health-concerns-as-uk-sets-record-for-smallest-properties-in-europe-9544450.html Rabbit-hutch Britain: Growing health concerns as UK sets record for smallest properties in Europe Northfield House. Peckham I was brought up in a flat in Peckham, in fact, in the block shown shown here. Northfield house, Peckham Park Road , London SE 15. One of the 2 bedroom flats, was recently advertised for sale at £275,000, which no one around at that time would have believed to be possible. Not only the price, but the fact that a Council flat was for sale in the open market. That was in the days before the "Parker Morris" standards, but the flat was just adequate for mum, dad and the young John Yates. Progress decreed that from 1967 these "Parker Morris" space standards would become mandatory for all housing built in new towns, and be extended to all council housing in 1...
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/05/29/future-labour-government-will-not-undo-hugely-unpopular-coalition-cuts_n_5413596.html?utm_hp_ref=uk Future Labour Government will not undo Coalition Government Cuts Ed Miliband And Ed Balls Labour will not undo ConDem Coalition cuts. Labour have not undone Tory anti trade union legislation. Labour will not restore the real reductions in pensions, nor will they reverse the increases in taxation for working people imposed at the same time as reductions in taxes for millionaire. The Labour party will not restore essential public services, energy, water, railways to public ownership and prevent the excesses of privatised industries and their profiteering at the expense of their customers and the country. The Labour party will not commence a programme of house building, particularly in the social housing sector, to address the chronic and shameful housing shortage in this country. This ...