Tag Archives: housing

Mike Tuffrey

Mike Tuffrey writes… Housing: time to think big on the supply-side

By Mike Tuffrey | Thu 7th July 2011 - 10:25 am

Even a cursory look at the state of housing in London instantly shows that something is profoundly wrong. Rents outside the social sector are racing ahead, up 17% last year. House prices defy the laws of gravity, up 5% despite national economic trends.

And the really scandalous thing is that it has been this way under both Mayors of London, with no sign of any fundamental change. That’s why I’ve been arguing we must focus above all else on getting the supply increased. Without that, solving the affordability question gets harder and harder: ever-rising housing and land costs means ever …

Continue reading »
Posted in London and Op-eds | Also tagged and | 42 Comments
Alex Marsh

Opinion: Distinctive positions on housing

By Alex Marsh | Mon 4th July 2011 - 10:21 am

There is no doubt some soul searching going on at the moment, in part as a consequence of the poor result at the Inverclyde by-election. I’m sure the leadership will seek to dismiss poor election results at this stage in the electoral cycle as to be expected when you’re “in government”. But that can hardly carry much weight, given the Tories aren’t doing anywhere near as badly. It seems to me that rather deeper reflection is needed. Is it clear any more what the Liberal Democrats stand for? Why would someone – beyond the most unwaveringly committed – vote for …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 41 Comments
Tom Papworth

Opinion: Stephen Williams is right to support the criminalisation of squatting

By Tom Papworth | Mon 27th June 2011 - 12:57 pm

It’s always a pleasure to see a Liberal Democrat MP standing up for our core liberal values. And among the core principles of liberalism, private ownership of property is of huge importance.

So it’s truly gratifying to see that Stephen Williams, MP for Bristol West, is taking a stand to protect owners of property from being dispossessed. Stephen has given his support to legislation, to be brought before parliament by the government, to criminalise squatting.

This is highly welcome and long overdue. Squatting has for too long been portrayed as a victimless crime, a Robin Hood grab …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 34 Comments
Mark Pack

Benefit caps and central London: how many children will be moving school?

By Mark Pack | Thu 23rd June 2011 - 12:54 pm

Many Liberal Democrats I’ve spoken to have mixed feelings about the proposed benefit cap and some of the housing benefit changes. On the one hand, they have very little sympathy with the complaints of people such as Frank Dobson that rule changes means he wouldn’t be able to afford to stay in his council flat. Count me in the camp who doesn’t think council housing should be used to let ex-ministers with decades of salary earning that puts them amongst the best paid in the country and with membership of a decent pension scheme live in one of London’s most …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 21 Comments

Opinion: How to change everything forever in six months

By London Liberal | Thu 23rd June 2011 - 11:18 am

A little-noticed policy of the Coalition is that of throwing out the entire planning system and replacing it with about fifty pages of pro-development planning policies. This is called the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and is intended to be the entire amount of national planning policy governing development. When implemented it will change your community forever.

Given what it seeks to do, fifty pages is a tiny amount – by contrast, the current Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 1, which deals merely with Sustainable Development, is itself twenty-five pages long. And there are twenty-five of these PPS’s, reaching about …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 20 Comments
The Voice

Lib Dem MP Stephen Gilbert sticks up for first-time buyers

By The Voice | Fri 15th April 2011 - 7:45 am

Stephen Gilbert, Lib Dem MP for Newquay and St Austell, has spoken about his difficulties in getting a foot on the housing ladder in his own constituency. Despite earning over £65k, Stephen is renting a flat until he can build up the higher deposit now needed — usually £25k or more — to secure a first home.

The Cornish Guardian reports:

“This is the double whammy first-time buyers have been affected by,” said the 35-year-old Liberal Democrat. “If I can’t afford a deposit on £65,738, what about the thousands on lower incomes?”

Mr Gilbert said: “I think the Government needs to

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 31 Comments
Mark Pack

Nearly a fifth of homelessness funds to go to voluntary sector as new figures reveal true extent of problem

By Mark Pack | Mon 21st February 2011 - 8:55 am

The Government has overhauled the way in which the number of rough sleepers is counted in order to more accurately show the reality of what is happening around the country. The new figures show that on average 1,768 people sleep rough each night, compared to 440 under the old system.

The big increase is due to every council taking part in the new counting measure. Previously figures were only gathered from areas considered hotspots for rough sleeping. In addition, the figures are now verified by the umbrella group Homeless Link rather than relying on government officials.

Further details have also been published …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 12 Comments
Mark Pack

Andrew Stunell reveals details of government plans to get empty homes put to use

By Mark Pack | Tue 11th January 2011 - 8:55 am

Liberal Democrat Communities Minister Andrew Stunell has been laying out details of how the Coalition Government is intending to get more empty homes put to use housing people. As the press release says:

Councils will receive powerful new incentives, with the coalition matching the council tax raised for every empty property brought back into use. Local authorities will be given the freedom to spend this money as they see fit. The government is also investing £100m in a fund for Housing Associations to bring empty homes back into use.

There are around 300,000 empty homes across the UK, and local residents are being encouraged to work with the council to identify where these homes are, so that their local community can start benefitting from the extra cash that can be used to improve their local area.

Andrew Stunell himself said,

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 24 Comments
Alex Marsh

Opinion: The housing policy jigsaw – the changing picture

By Alex Marsh | Fri 31st December 2010 - 1:25 pm

I started this discussion of current developments in policy towards housing by noting that it is an area in which the tensions in inherent in balancing “the fundamental values of freedom, equality and community” are absolutely central. Housing policy needs to strike a balance between the individual and the aggregate – neighbourhood, city, regional – outcomes if it is going to deliver economically and socially (and environmentally) successful settlements. In this last post I will reflect briefly on changes in where this balance has been struck over time.

In the post-Second World War period housing policy was directed at improving …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 7 Comments
Alex Marsh

Opinion: The housing policy jigsaw – a picture begins to emerge?

By Alex Marsh | Thu 30th December 2010 - 11:25 am

In yesterday’s post I set out key policy developments affecting housing. So what can we discern about the current government’s approach to housing?

For a start there is a continuing emphasis upon choice. This is particularly clear when discussing how to encourage underoccupying social renters to move. The CLG rhetoric is of increasing choice and making choices easier to realise. They neglect to cross-refer to the DWP proposals to cut the housing benefit of any social renter deemed to be seriously underoccupying. The approach isn’t all “carrot”.

The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) proposals more generally are framed in terms of housing …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 5 Comments
Alex Marsh

Opinion: The housing policy jigsaw – identifying the pieces

By Alex Marsh | Wed 29th December 2010 - 11:25 am

Yesterday, I suggested that it would be valuable to piece together the housing policy jigsaw in order to reflect on the picture that emerges. Policy in this field speaks directly to our fundamental values -freedom, equality and community – and how they are to be reconciled. My aim today is to identify more fully the key pieces of the current policy jigsaw.

So what can we make of the way policy towards housing is developing?

The key proposals on social housing reform in the Local Decisions consultation paper were heavily trailed. Many are embodied in the Localism Bill. They have been …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 1 Comment
Alex Marsh

Opinion: Piecing together the housing policy jigsaw

By Alex Marsh | Tue 28th December 2010 - 11:25 am

The Coalition government is seemingly intent upon drowning us in a blizzard of consultation papers, green papers, white papers, and hasty legislation. No doubt there is also a bit of kite flying taking place for good measure. One problem with all this activity is keeping track of overlapping agendas. How do we sum the parts in a way that allows us to get a sense of the likely cumulative impact of change?

One area in which this is particularly acute is housing. Policy which impacts upon housing and the housing market sits with a number of government departments. Housing policy and …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 5 Comments
Jonathan Featonby

Opinion: Why the Government’s social housing reforms are flawed

By Jonathan Featonby | Wed 24th November 2010 - 10:54 am

The Coalition announced its plans for the reform of social housing on Monday and Andrew Stunell – our man inside the Department for Communities and Local Government – summarised the main points and the reasoning behind them here on Lib Dem Voice.

These plans, especially when coupled with the previously announced changes to housing benefit, are sure to spark a great deal of debate on these pages and we’ve already seen this happening in response to Stunell’s article.

At first glance, the main idea behind the reforms is admirable – to make social housing fairer. Most people are aware of …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 10 Comments
Alex Marsh

Opinion: Disposing of that pesky homelessness problem

By Alex Marsh | Thu 11th November 2010 - 1:53 pm

It was entirely predictable. The opening moves in a game that could see another hard-won component of the welfare state undermined have now been played.

It may have been predictable, but it is no less distasteful for all that.

The Coalition’s proposals for restricting housing benefit in the private rented sector have been greeted with a chorus of disapproval from informed commentators and the housing policy and practice community. Many grassroots LibDem members are equally concerned. Dire consequences are forecast.

The Government believes that landlords will happily adjust their rent downwards to reflect benefit cuts. Informed opinion says otherwise. (I discuss this issue …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 39 Comments
Alex Marsh

Opinion: Spinning the death of affordable housing

By Alex Marsh | Wed 3rd November 2010 - 4:03 pm

At the heart of politics lie battles over meaning. In an uncertain world there is plenty of scope to contest the definition of problems and the perceived effectiveness of solutions. Under Labour we came to think of agenda management as “spin”, and to condemn it. But the Blairites were simply the most egregious and effective exponents of the political arts. All politicians face decisions about the message and how one would ideally like it interpreted.

This seems particularly pertinent in relation to current discussions about affordable housing. We’re seeing the government providing some creative readings of what is on offer.

One component …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 27 Comments
Adrian Sanders

Adrian Sanders writes… The cap that doesn’t fit

By Adrian Sanders | Sun 31st October 2010 - 4:50 pm

People outside of London who cannot afford to buy a home or meet their rent without help from the benefit system are missing out in the current debate on the capping of Housing Benefit.

The housing benefit bill doubled under Labour but it wasn’t because of an increase in claimants, it was because Labour failed to ensure enough regulated rent social housing was built for the increasing numbers of people who could not and cannot afford to buy.

The problem didn’t start under Labour; it began in the early 80’s. The ratio between wages and house prices rose at the same …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 38 Comments
Dominic Curran

Opinion: Are there no workhouses? Our skewed housing benefit debate

By Dominic Curran | Sun 31st October 2010 - 12:53 pm

This recent debate about housing benefit has been explosive, with anger and froth expelled by both sides of the debate. And with Christmas coming, I can’t help feeling that there are many out there whose approach to housing the poor is somewhat Scrooge-like. ‘Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?’ they are almost asking.

Housing benefit reform is a tricky beast, no doubt, as the most outrageous (but numerically few) examples of, say, unemployed immigrants getting £1,000 a week to live in Notting Hill have riled many, myself included. But it’s worth asking the question why are so many …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 62 Comments
Sue Farrant

Opinion: A post-CSR view from the South West

By Sue Farrant | Sat 30th October 2010 - 3:25 pm

Down here in the South West we are bracing ourselves for the impact of the government’s efforts to reduce the budget deficit.  The public sector is by far the biggest employer here (about 40%) and redundancies seem inevitable, compounded by posts falling empty and not being filled thus reducing the number of real vacancies. Will the private sector be able to grow fast enough to compensate? I live in Sherborne, a pretty little market town which is renowned for its variety of small, independent retailers. They sustain the local way of life, provide some limited employment opportunities and attract visitors …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 4 Comments
Jonathan Featonby

Opinion: Bob Russell’s advice over housing benefit should be heeded by the coalition

By Jonathan Featonby | Thu 28th October 2010 - 10:55 am

During yesterday’s PMQs, the most vocal Lib Dem rebel MP today made an exceptionally well-stated and compassionate plea for the coalition government to rethink their plans to cut housing benefit.

Bob Russell, who stood to cries of “hear, hear” from those on the benches opposite when John Bercow called his name, voiced his concerns that as a result of the changes, thousands of children could possibly become homeless.

It is certainly a consideration that has to be taken seriously by David Cameron, Nick Clegg and their cabinet colleagues.

They may well respond – as the Prime Minister did this afternoon – by saying …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 103 Comments
Andrew Stunell MP

Andrew Stunell writes… Myth-busting: what the Coalition’s plans for houses really mean

By Andrew Stunell MP | Thu 21st October 2010 - 12:32 pm

There has been a lot of talk over the last few months about the Coalition’s plans for social housing. Much has been written, and most of it has been wrong, as illustrated by Dominic Curran’s piece on Lib Dem Voice yesterday. This piece is intended to explain what we are actually doing, rather than what the Labour party, and their friends in the media want you to think we’re doing.

Firstly, we will be increasing social housing supply by more each year than Labour achieved in thirteen years added together.  That’s because Labour sold off almost as many houses as …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 41 Comments
Peter Barrett

Opinion: How we transformed council housing in Perth and Kinross

By Peter Barrett | Thu 14th October 2010 - 10:10 pm

Cllr Peter Barrett is Perth and Kinross Council’s Housing and Health Convenor. He was once described in the local newspaper as the “Saviour of Tay Street” after defeating a previous administration’s car parking plans. Here he describes how he has transformed the housing service for the better. I’ve always thought that housing is one of the most important issues to sort. In fact, I’d say that there’s little point in the Pupil Premium if the kids it’s there to support don’t have warm, dry, comfortable homes to live in and enough food to eat. It’s hard to learn if you’re …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds and Scotland | Also tagged and | 1 Comment
Patrick Murray

Opinion: 4.5 million people are waiting for homes – let’s not leave them behind

By Patrick Murray | Wed 11th August 2010 - 5:40 pm

David Cameron’s recent comments on council housing tenancies have sparked some controversy in the media and here on Lib Dem Voice.

First, I am delighted that at least there is a debate around housing policy. Many people are simply unable to afford to buy, leaving people in cramped overcrowded accommodation that is harmful to their and their family’s health. There are still many people sleeping on our streets and many more in homeless shelters and temporary accommodation.

I’ve seen both ends of the crisis. Ten years ago I was homeless myself and went through the shelters to temporary accommodation …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | 17 Comments
Stephen Tall

Half Lib Dem MPs have opposed Cameron’s plan to end lifetime tenancies

By Stephen Tall | Mon 9th August 2010 - 9:45 am

The Guardian reports today:

More than half of Liberal Democrat MPs, including two cabinet members and eight junior ministers, are on record as opposing plans by David Cameron to water down security of tenure for new social housing tenants.

The scale of the opposition suggests Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem deputy leader, is speaking for the bulk of the party in opposing the ideas floated by the prime minister.

Cameron suggested the idea of fixed-term tenancies for new tenants last week, and the housing minister, Grant Shapps, continued to defend the plan this weekend, saying lifetime tenancies did not make sense.

The paper’s …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | 24 Comments
Alex Foster

Housing: of course there are more questions than answers

By Alex Foster | Wed 4th August 2010 - 5:05 pm

Earlier today, m’learned colleague Sara Bedford penned a piece responding to David Cameron’s off-the-cuff policy-making on the issue of tenure in social housing.

Her piece has unreasonably taken flak from our valued community of commenters for asking more questions than she answered.

But housing is one of the thornier issues facing any government, and like so many big problems, of course there are more questions than answers.  No-one disputes that were we are now is not ideal. There aren’t enough homes. People are overcrowded. Others are overhoused. Houses cost too much more than most people earn for many people to …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 35 Comments
Stephen Tall

Hughes on Cameron’s council tenancies plans: “It is not a Liberal Democrat policy, it is not a coalition policy.”

By Stephen Tall | Wed 4th August 2010 - 2:02 pm

Lib Dem Voice’s Sara Bedford reported here this morning her reaction to David Cameron’s suggestion that he wanted to look at fixed-term tenancies to help solve the issue of scarce council housing.

Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes has been quick to make plain his outright opposition to the proposal, telling the Evening Standard’s Paul Waugh:

“The ideas put forward by David Cameron this week in no way represent the policy of the coalition and certainly do not represent the policy of the Liberal Democrats.

“We will not let anybody have their homes taken away. We must continue to suppport established

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 46 Comments
Stephen Gilbert MP

Stephen Gilbert MP’s maiden speech

By Stephen Gilbert MP | Sat 12th June 2010 - 4:28 pm

The second maiden speech republished here this weekend after Michael Crockart’s, as Lib Dem Voice continues a tradition started on Cix of reposting maiden speeches for the comment of interested parties.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to speak here today for the first time. I am delighted to follow Jonathan Edwards, and I share his determination to secure a Robin Hood tax on international financial transactions. As it happens, I had the pleasure of knowing his predecessor from my time studying in Aberystwyth, and I am sure he will be a worthy successor.

St Austell and Newquay is …

Continue reading »
Posted in Parliament | Also tagged , , , and | 3 Comments
Alex Foster

Empty homes policy launch

By Alex Foster | Thu 14th January 2010 - 3:19 pm

Details arrive at the Voice of a launch of our General Election housing policy:

The Liberal Democrats today set out plans to bring a quarter of a million empty homes back into use, making homes available for people who need them and creating 65,000 jobs.

There are over 760,000 empty properties across England which are no longer used as homes but can be brought back into use with some investment. People who own these homes will get a grant or a cheap loan to renovate them so they can be used: grants if the home is for social housing, loans for

…

Continue reading »
Posted in General Election and Local government | Also tagged , , , , , , , and | 22 Comments
Alex Foster

Daily View 2×2: 10 December 2009

By Alex Foster | Thu 10th December 2009 - 7:48 am

Good morning and welcome to Daily View. 10th December is the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death and the first awards of the Nobel Prize in 1901. Today we also sing happy birthday to Emily Dickinson and Ada Lovelace.

The numerical elements of this post break down a little, as you’ll see.

Must-Read Blog Posts

What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are some posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator:

OnePlace to rule them all

As we reported yesterday, the Audit Commission launched One Place, a website listing government inspection results of all local authorities. And reviews of their own councils have been exercising some Lib Dem bloggers since the site came back up yesterday afternoon:

Continue reading »
Posted in Daily View | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and | Leave a comment
The Voice

Government U-turn leaves thrifty families better off

By The Voice | Wed 9th December 2009 - 6:23 pm

The Government has today made a U-turn over plans that could have left low-income families £780 a year worse off, after proposed changes to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) were scrapped in today’s Pre-Budget Report. 

Quietly sneaked into the last budget was a proposal to claw back £780 per year from some of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable families. At present, households receiving Local Housing Allowance (LHA) are able to keep up to £15 a week if they choose a home with a rent below the maximum payment for their area.  Alistair Darling’s plan to prevent this excess payment being kept by the claimant would have left some of those already struggling to get by on the lowest incomes losing up to 20% of their income. The Government’s own figures calculated that around 300,000 of the poorest households would have been affected.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | Leave a comment
Philip Young

What the papers say…

By Philip Young | Sun 6th December 2009 - 9:50 am

A new weekly round-up of random press clippings, compiled for The Voice by former Fleet Street News Editor (and former Liberal News Editor) Philip Young, including snippets you might have missed.

“Almost two million Britons have accepted pay cuts or chosen to work part-time in an attempt to stave-off unemployment as the recession bites. But the desperate measures mean that income tax receipts have collapsed by almost a fifth, and now the Government is facing the biggest peacetime deficit in history. Next week Ministers will confirm that they are likely to borrow close to £180 billion this year – the …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | Leave a comment
Advert

Recent Comments

  • David Allen
    A clear, credible, principled strategy from the Yorkists! Makes a welcome change. Sadly, followed by twenty below-the-line posts, providing nearly twenty ve...
  • Simon McGrath
    so we get a permanant increase in costs for these subsidies based on ( alleged ) windfall profits. Its another big increase in spending -how is it to be paid ...
  • Peter Davies
    @Kira CollinsThat assumes we want to help people more with their energy bills than with all the other bills they may be struggling with. There is no reason why ...
  • Rob Heale
    Agree that we need to focus on strategy and have clearer messaging:- 1. We MUST prioritise membership recruitment in all we do, including PPB's, most leaflets...
  • Kira Collins
    Disappointed. The most obvious means of reducing energy bills is to remove VAT. Relatively straightforward to do and does not adversely impact on the attractive...