The right for everyone to have a decent home is emerging as one of the big themes of Tim Farron’s leadership. It is the subject of his first Party Political Broadcast as leader, which you can view below. As well as packing a punch in terms of the theme, it is also a well presented broadcast. Tim is relaxed and seems normal.
* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
4 Comments
Shaaaakkyyyy cammmmmm
Great message. We do need to focus on individual important issues where the public can associate us with campaigns. I personally would have used less individual shots to spread that message though.
But don’t expect a spare room.
It was indeed a good PPB on a matter of huge importance.
It was a bit of a shame that his Thunder was stolen (Do PPB’s create Thunder – much more likely a rush for the kettle!)
by tTV’s Inside Out program on Monday and the Tory Housing Minister promising 1M new homes by next election. within the last couple of days.
It is clearly an issue that has long been of great importance to Tim, it would be a good one to make our own.
As for spare rooms, its a fair point, the “bedroom tax” policy was always going to be a hard sell even in the most obvious of circumstances. I can’t bring myself to dislike the intent there, but the execution and even more especially the media needed “handling” vastly better. Everyone should have the option of a spare room, but two three or more when the state is providing? That battle is lost, let’s get lots of new houses built in places where they are needed and with community support, let’s improve the old stock find ways to bring them back into use. Lets especially NOT allow the rich and wealthy to block attempts to provide decent homes or to sit on sites that are ripe for redevelopment or are simply sitting empty.
We are a small country with quite a large population, and I for one don’t want to see our green and pleasant land disappearing under ever more tarmac and houses more than needed. We already don’t have the agriculural land to fully support our population (surely there’s a baseline target there), developments are often focussed in river valleys, often the most productive areas (or most in danger of flooding)
Perhaps we should seek to increase the allowance for lodgers.
” Lets especially NOT allow the rich and wealthy to block attempts to provide decent homes or to sit on sites that are ripe for redevelopment or are simply sitting empty.”
Well that’s going to be a challenge in London, because much prime estate is owned by absent foreign owners. So here we have prime sites that are ripe for redevelopment. I mean people have gone on about old people living in homes that are too big, perhaps we need to start highlighting the inappropriate enlargement of homes in our cities: if you need to build a basement swimming pool/cinema whatever, perhaps you should be looking to move…