Ian Lavery MP column: 'Building lots of council housing would benefit everyone'
My recent disagreement with the Tory-controlled Northumberland County Council regarding the council house waiting list has highlighted the extremely urgent need for affordable housing here and throughout the UK.
History provides the answer – build many new council houses.
The Thatcher Government’s Right to Buy policy for council houses obviously has been very popular; who wouldn’t like massive discounts on a purchase after a few years of renting a property?
But its legacy has left many working class families unable to afford places to live. A massive 41% of former council houses bought under the scheme are now in the expensive private rental sector, where rents keep rising.
I welcome the Labour Government’s policy of reducing the flow of council house purchases by slashing the price discounts and increasing the required number years of renting, but more needs to be done.
We need to learn a lesson from Wilson’s Labour Government in 1968 that saw 425,000 houses built, half of which by councils, that resulted in lots of affordable housing and low levels of homelessness.
In 1968, councils largely did the building themselves through their own long lost building departments. Current plans for building 1.5million new homes across the country by 2029 envisages more social housing, but sees the “heavy lifting” in the private sector, dominated by wealthy nationwide builders, but they habitually limit the number of homes they build to keep their profit margins high.
Alternatively, by giving councils the money to pay smaller local builders to build lots of affordable council houses, it would provide decent homes for many who need them – with the bonus of keeping the money in the local economy.
Plentiful, desirable council houses would take the heat out of the market, making home ownership cheaper as well. Houses could be bought for creating homes, not as investments based on ever increasing values.
‘The Bank of Mum and Dad’ needed to pay children’s deposits could close. That’s one local bank closure many would welcome.
Residents in the Blyth and Ashington constituency can contact my office by calling 01670 852494 or emailing [email protected] and there are also regular updates that are posted on my Facebook page (Ian Lavery MP).