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MPs and housing policy?

Mstone said:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/17/when-we-pay-rent-to-our-mps

Can we trust MPs on all sides to make good housing policy? Or does it not matter, i.e. the market will sort it out?
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We can't trust MPs to make good policy on anything, because (on both sides) they are blinkered by ideology. The market is theoretically neutral, but as the article points out it is distorted by political interventions. The 'property-owning' democracy dream of Thatcherism is imploding.
 
Joe Hutch said:
We can't trust MPs to make good policy on anything, because (on both sides) they are blinkered by ideology. The market is theoretically neutral, but as the article points out it is distorted by political interventions. The 'property-owning' democracy dream of Thatcherism is imploding.
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Is there then a case for stopping MPs from profitting from this?
 
Mstone said:
Is there then a case for stopping MPs from profitting from this?
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Yes, but MPs are such a small part of a big social problem that it would be tokenism that would not actually address the root problem which is that in some areas of the country, demand for housing so far exceeds supply that housing has become unaffordable for many people.
 
Joe Hutch said:
Yes, but MPs are such a small part of a big social problem that it would be tokenism that would not actually address the root problem which is that in some areas of the country, demand for housing so far exceeds supply that housing has become unaffordable for many people.
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Apparently, one third of the UK is unaffordable for the working poor.

Things will not improve until people stop regarding a house as a source of wealth. Houses are where you live.


Chris
 
Joe Hutch said:
We can't trust MPs to make good policy on anything, because (on both sides) they are blinkered by ideology. The market is theoretically neutral, but as the article points out it is distorted by political interventions. The 'property-owning' democracy dream of Thatcherism is imploding.
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The irony is this shower are busy spending all their waking hours scape-goating the unemployed and infirm for receiving "huge welfare payments" where in most cases the claimants themselves receive an absolute pittance and the vast majority goes into the pocket of the private landlord class the MPs themselves represent. You couldn't make it up.
 
Mescalito said:
Apparently, one third of the UK is unaffordable for the working poor.

Things will not improve until people stop regarding a house as a source of wealth. Houses are where you live.


Chris
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There will also need to be a return to subsidised or free accommodation for key workers, unless all the workers in the financial sector want to empty their own bins.
 
Mescalito said:
Apparently, one third of the UK is unaffordable for the working poor.

Things will not improve until people stop regarding a house as a source of wealth. Houses are where you live.


Chris
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This is true .

The easiest way of this would be take the following steps

1]Repeal the 1984 housing act which introduced assured short hold tenancies and reintroduce life tenancies in private rented accommodation

2] fair rent review all private rented accommodation .
 
paul auster said:
This is true .

The easiest way of this would be take the following steps

1]Repeal the 1984 housing act which introduced assured short hold tenancies and reintroduce life tenancies in private rented accommodation

2] fair rent review all private rented accommodation .
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I no longer have any skin in the game, having unloaded my buy to rent investments in 2007.

But to me, the logical thing to do is to build a shit load more houses.

Chris
 
Mstone

We are a very small island and our population is nearing 60 million and is projected to continue rising.

We are not building enough housing and what houses we are building are getting smaller and smaller. This is thanks to planning laws.

Unless we bite the bullet and relax planning laws, all housing will be expensive, be it rented or privately owned. Lots of people and not enough houses = rising prices.

Mick
 
Mick

Again I agree. But it's a hot potato, not much land available that doesn't cause heated debate. And with the short termism of politicians, whose only real goal is to get reelected, the policy (such as it is) is changed with each parliament.

Oh, and you're a bit out of date, we hit 62.7million 2 years ago.
 
Mstone said:
Mick

Again I agree. But it's a hot potato, not much land available that doesn't cause heated debate. And with the short termism of politicians, whose only real goal is to get reelected, the policy (such as it is) is changed with each parliament.

Oh, and you're a bit out of date, we hit 62.7million 2 years ago.
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That's what compusory purchase orders are for. First off, the housing is to a greater or lesser extent required in urban centres to house proles to do the jobs proles do;). Developers & large retailers have large "land banks" in urban areas, some of which have stood derelict for decades.

We need a "shit or get off the pot" law. If the land is not developed within, say 5 years, the owners get hit with punitive taxation on the value of the land. And not just the current market value, the vastly inflated book value.


That should loosen things up a tad

Chris
 
Mick P said:
Mstone

We are a very small island and our population is nearing 60 million and is projected to continue rising.

We are not building enough housing and what houses we are building are getting smaller and smaller. This is thanks to planning laws.

Unless we bite the bullet and relax planning laws, all housing will be expensive, be it rented or privately owned. Lots of people and not enough houses = rising prices.

Mick
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63.2 now Mick
 
We need a "shit or get off the pot" law. If the land is not developed within, say 5 years, the owners get hit with punitive taxation on the value of the land. And not just the current market value, the vastly inflated book value.
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Alas a "shit or get of the pot law" spanning an election term might be included in all manifestos but being in a manifesto does not mean it will reach the Queen's Speech without a neutering or reach the Queen's speech at all. With the voting public so apathetic when it comes to casting their votes I don't think it will matter one way or the other what is in the manifesto as apathy will be the only true winner of the next general election.
 
paul auster said:
63.2 now Mick
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Paul

I really am genuinely thinking my time is up on this forum. I don't like fighting anymore and I am not up to date on my facts. I am prematurely aging.

The only good new is that Mstone was also out of date.

Be warned, the ever vigilant sniper Greg will soon be along, asking you to verify your facts.

Regards

Mick
 
Mick P said:
Paul

I really am genuinely thinking my time is up on this forum. I don't like fighting anymore and I am not up to date on my facts. I am prematurely aging.

The only good new is that Mstone was also out of date.

Be warned, the ever vigilant sniper Greg will soon be along, asking you to verify your facts.

Regards

Mick
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c'mon what happened to the mickp who was incensed by factual inaccuracy ? :D
 
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