Housing in London
Register | Edit Profile | Subscriptions | Forum Rules | Log In | RSS Feed
 serial thriller  The Promised Land 23 Nov 14 5.53pm |
  |
|---|---|
|
I reckon coming up to the General Election, housing is going to be a major topic of discussion. UKIP will frame it around over-population and thus immigration, Labour have claimed they will build a couple of hundred thousand houses by 2020, but actually I think the most interesting thing happening to combat the inflation of the cost of the property market is the grassroots stuff in London at the moment. I've referenced it a few times on here but have only recently realised how important a movement it is when you consider how much cynicism there is towards any form of collective activism. Be it the student protests or unions striking, there is a general belief that a) they don't achieve their aims and b) they are ideologically misguided. So these (admittedly small) victories for people coming together against property investors and landlords should act as an interesting rebuttal to that first claim... The E15 mums: [Link]
The gentrification of London is not new, but I think people are waking up to the damaging and divisive effect it has on the least powerful in our society. So my question to everyone is, do you agree with what these people are doing? And if you do, what distinguishes this from the student movement or the union protests?
If punk ever happened I'd be preaching the law, instead of listenin to Lydon lecture BBC4 |
|
 Alert a moderator to this post |
  |
| nickgusset Shizzlehurst 23 Nov 14 6.14pm |
|
|---|---|
|
People think that it won't achieve anything because it never makes the news. It's a shocking state of affairs when one has to rely on Russia Today to find out what's going on in the UK. Same with the Greens not being allowed on the election debates. It's because they have different ideas from the austerity narrative of the others.
|
|
| Alert a moderator to this post |
|
| TUX redhill 23 Nov 14 7.06pm |
|
|---|---|
|
Quote nickgusset at 23 Nov 2014 6.14pm
People think that it won't achieve anything because it never makes the news. It's a shocking state of affairs when one has to rely on Russia Today to find out what's going on in the UK. Same with the Greens not being allowed on the election debates. It's because they have different ideas from the austerity narrative of the others. That'll be 'the system' doing what it does best as we know,............hiding the truth.
|
|
| Alert a moderator to this post |
|
Pussay Patrol  23 Nov 14 7.26pm |
|
|---|---|
|
Quote nickgusset at 23 Nov 2014 6.14pm
People think that it won't achieve anything because it never makes the news. It's a shocking state of affairs when one has to rely on Russia Today to find out what's going on in the UK. Same with the Greens not being allowed on the election debates. It's because they have different ideas from the austerity narrative of the others. Who cares what the Greens think? Green issues were in vogue 10-20 years ago, global warming, the greenhouse effect etc, but no-one gives a stuff about that anymore. People care about the economy, the NHS and immigration
Paua oouaarancì Irà chiyeah Ishé galé ma ba oo ah |
|
| Alert a moderator to this post |
|
| Stirlingsays 23 Nov 14 7.40pm |
 |
|---|---|
|
It's the Greens whose agenda is responsible for energy prices being more expensive than it needs to be. It's the Greens, not the Tories who are really the implicit killers who finish off grannies and oldies too worried to put their heating on this winter. All so we can look good while China open another forty coal factories next year.
'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen) |
|
| Alert a moderator to this post |
|
Jimenez  SELHURSTPARKCHESTER,DA BRONX 23 Nov 14 7.59pm |
|
|---|---|
|
I own two houses in London what's the problem? I rent both out at below market prices to people I trust.
Pro USA & Israel |
|
| Alert a moderator to this post |
|
| johnfirewall 23 Nov 14 8.43pm |
|
|---|---|
|
Well the E15 mums are doing more than just shouting and making tits of themselves. Hats off to them. Most council's housing plans are cynical. A lot of estates were knocked down with people shipped out to the sticks. There are probably in the region of 50,000 homes under construction in London right now with an obligatory portion in the inner city areas being allocated to social housing. How many can we realistically build? It's ironic the old estates have been flattened and modern developments are now high rises with a concierge service. Evidence of the way people are being priced out of London. There was a woman being attacked on Question Time for being expressing her concerns over this. It was put to her that no one has a right to live in London. I would have gone mad. If she earns a living she has every right. You've got recent arrivals crammed in to dormitory style accommodation (or sheds) by unscrupulous landlords. Private landlords are doing pretty well out of the above sort of arrangement, plus legitimate benefit cases. Councils are even advertising for more landlords round here. Then you've got normal working people paying through the nose for a box room. I guess it's a product of the recession that people want to live in London. Not just from abroad but other parts of the UK as well. I reckon more students have stayed here after graduating from London universities than Poles.
|
|
| Alert a moderator to this post |
|
| Pussay Patrol 23 Nov 14 8.53pm |
|
|---|---|
|
The problem with housebuilding is it's not a vote winner. It's a long term policy and people only think of the here and now, plus no-one wants big housing developments built near them, we're all nimbys.... I like idea of the conservatives new Garden City in Ebbsfleet
Paua oouaarancì Irà chiyeah Ishé galé ma ba oo ah |
|
| Alert a moderator to this post |
|
| Apollofuzz On the edge of reason 23 Nov 14 9.36pm |
|
|---|---|
|
Quote Pussay Patrol at 23 Nov 2014 8.53pm
The problem with housebuilding is it's not a vote winner. It's a long term policy and people only think of the here and now, plus no-one wants big housing developments built near them, we're all nimbys.... I like idea of the conservatives new Garden City in Ebbsfleet It was not a Conservative idea, it was started before they were elected, I was working on it about 6 yrs ago , but mothballed at the start of the recession.
I ride a GS scooter with my hair cut neat |
|
| Alert a moderator to this post |
|
| jamiemartin721 Reading 24 Nov 14 11.37am |
|
|---|---|
|
Quote Pussay Patrol at 23 Nov 2014 7.26pm
Quote nickgusset at 23 Nov 2014 6.14pm
People think that it won't achieve anything because it never makes the news. It's a shocking state of affairs when one has to rely on Russia Today to find out what's going on in the UK. Same with the Greens not being allowed on the election debates. It's because they have different ideas from the austerity narrative of the others. Who cares what the Greens think? Green issues were in vogue 10-20 years ago, global warming, the greenhouse effect etc, but no-one gives a stuff about that anymore. People care about the economy, the NHS and immigration I disagree, 10-20 years ago recycling looked like a fad and the idea of any kind of environmental tax would have looked like Freak power. Green issues have simply transferred from the fringes into the mainstream. Concern about the Ecconomy, NHS and Immigration are largely irrelivent, simply because the first isn't under the governments capacity to really control, the second is a smokescreen* and the third isn't actually as bigger problem as people like to think (it is a problem, but its also a reason why the first issue could be a lot worse than it is - immigration is profitable to the economy of the UK). * By smokescreen - None of the three main parties would ever privitise the NHS based on their current and projected political position (the Conservatives, arguably the most likely to consider it, would need to have a landslide victory to make major changes to the NHS). Too many conservatives would likely rebel.
"One Nation Under God, has turned into One Nation Under the Influence of One Drug" |
|
| Alert a moderator to this post |
|
| jamiemartin721 Reading 24 Nov 14 11.40am |
|
|---|---|
|
Quote Pussay Patrol at 23 Nov 2014 8.53pm
The problem with housebuilding is it's not a vote winner. It's a long term policy and people only think of the here and now, plus no-one wants big housing developments built near them, we're all nimbys.... I like idea of the conservatives new Garden City in Ebbsfleet Very true, and the consequence of any kind of large scale house building, that was effective, would undermine house prices, which essentially would be electoral suicide in the crucial swing seats. There in lies one of the real problems of democracy, sometimes you need to do something that is in the best interests of society, but the worst interests of your own party.
"One Nation Under God, has turned into One Nation Under the Influence of One Drug" |
|
| Alert a moderator to this post |
|
| serial thriller The Promised Land 24 Nov 14 4.51pm |
|
|---|---|
|
Quote johnfirewall at 23 Nov 2014 8.43pm
Well the E15 mums are doing more than just shouting and making tits of themselves. Hats off to them. Most council's housing plans are cynical. A lot of estates were knocked down with people shipped out to the sticks. There are probably in the region of 50,000 homes under construction in London right now with an obligatory portion in the inner city areas being allocated to social housing. How many can we realistically build? It's ironic the old estates have been flattened and modern developments are now high rises with a concierge service. Evidence of the way people are being priced out of London. There was a woman being attacked on Question Time for being expressing her concerns over this. It was put to her that no one has a right to live in London. I would have gone mad. If she earns a living she has every right. You've got recent arrivals crammed in to dormitory style accommodation (or sheds) by unscrupulous landlords. Private landlords are doing pretty well out of the above sort of arrangement, plus legitimate benefit cases. Councils are even advertising for more landlords round here. Then you've got normal working people paying through the nose for a box room. I guess it's a product of the recession that people want to live in London. Not just from abroad but other parts of the UK as well. I reckon more students have stayed here after graduating from London universities than Poles.
I don't think building houses is necessarily the solution, because all you are doing is temporarily satisfying what looks to be an insatiable demand to live in London, both nationally and globally. That's all tied in with the fact that 80% of jobs under the coalition have been created in London, while the key elements of our economy, the financial and service sectors, are based in the Capital. Housing has actually now become a third prong to which financial sectors are propping up our faltering economy, and the relatively stable inflation of house prices means invested capital in housing in Central London is a big money-spinner, hence why we are seeing, as in the video I posted, foreign investment schemes buying up large estates and tripling rent. But other than widescale devolution of power from London, what else is there to do? Because the institutions people like the E15 mums and the New Era estate are facing are unaccountable they have no obligation not to maximise profit to the detriment of long-standing social groups. So really there are only two routes I can see: you can have government intervention, which looks pretty unlikely, albeit Labour are claiming they will intervene to help first-time buyers if they win in 2015 which is a very small step in the right direction. Alternatively you need grassroots social action like these two examples to bring these organisations in to the lense of public scrutiny. They have done that, and in the case of the E15 mums, they've won. Just one other point, given that this thread has been slightly de-railed by arguments about the Greens, one thing I do think could help devolution from London would be the £10 obligatory minimum wage they are proposing. Given that in London by 2020, if inflation continues on its trends, £10 will probably be below the London Living Wage (it's about £9.15 now). But outside London it will still be significantly more than the Living wage, therefore standards of living will be higher. All hypothetical, but a thought.
If punk ever happened I'd be preaching the law, instead of listenin to Lydon lecture BBC4 |
|
| Alert a moderator to this post |
|
Login / Register
All images and text on this site are copyright © 1999-2023 The Holmesdale Online, unless otherwise stated.
Web Design by Guntrisoft Ltd.