Conservative Manifesto

Yup! Anything built by councils will be sold off under right to buy! x

Lots of housing association property built originally by councils.
Corollary = most council property now transferred out of council ownership???

(if so, how are they going to raise money by selling their best ones off ?)

But lots of HA property has been built by the HAs over the years. Their original remit.

Even Nick Robinson says the Tory Manifesto promises are uncosted, and he's a Tory.

bbcsignups.external.bbc.co.uk/inxmail4/d?q00p5zki0ghble00d000000000000000jw7xphgq6359

The other evil thing about the Tory housing promises is what they did to those same people who had one bedroom too many for their perceived housing needs with the bedroom tax.
Somehow I do not think they will be wanting to buy their housing association or council properties.

Selling off social housing sounds a terrible idea.

I am all in favour of a referendum. We are sure to get lots of programmes about it beforehand Mishap!

We should have a referendum every 5 years.
It is ludicrous that we are still stuck to something that voters voted on in 1974 or whenever it was in the 70s.

Cos a bit like setting off in a supertanker with a cargo destined for Hong Kong and then getting the crew to vote on destination every few days maybe?

Re the other promise - childcare - aren't most of the kids in that age group already in school? They are here.

I am utterly appalled at the idea of that the Housing Associations should be forced to sell off properties. Which certainly in London will eventually get bought by rich investors who will sell on at vast profits. Give it 20 yrs or so.

Then as I said on another thread the ordinary lowly paid working people. Refuse collectors, road sweepers, the office toilet cleaners, bus drivers, sewage workers will not be able to live in the city and without these services that smooth running of our big cities could collapse.
It really frightens me.

One of their big pledges was that anyone working on minimum wage for 30 hours would not have to pay tax. It's below the tax threshold as it is!
What an idiot.

Three year old children aren't at school, Jess.

jane10 You say "we don't get involved in forum flare ups and just quietly vote our own way" and yet Magpie's original post appeared to set the "point scoring" tone of which you complain - and the derisive term "usual suspects" was surely designed to invite comment.

Rather than relying on personal and rather insulting remarks - such as referring to those who think differently from themselves as "zealots" (fanatic, extremist, militant), it might be better for those who support these Conservative policies to present a reasoned defence.

On the issue of Right to Buy, a report entitled "From Right to Buy to Buy to Let" stated that more than one-third of Right to Buy homes in London are now in the hands of private landlords. The report went on to say that "the financial cost to taxpayers and local authorities of the Right to Buy, including increased welfare spending due to the higher Housing Benefit payments being paid to tenants in ex-council homes that are now charged at market rates."

and

"Local authorities are now frequently forced to rent former homes back at higher market rates in order to discharge their statutory homelessness duties."

As the news revealed tonight, several people in housing association properties said the proposal might well encourage them to vote Conservative. In a climate that encourages a "look after No. 1" approach, it is perhaps understandable that there appeared to be little thought for those people who are unlikely ever to be in a position to buy and for whom the problem of finding a decent home with an affordable rent will be further exacerbated.

I agree with Mishap that the relentless push for parents to work more and more hours, with their children often spending from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in private nurseries housed in inappropriate buildings and run by poorly paid and under trained staff, is not necessarily a step in the right direction.

I think the idea of selling off social housing is a good idea. It is a way of getting everyone to raise their expectations, I could not afford to buy on the open market but now I own a house with only a little bit owing and I am so proud that my home looks different to the other council houses ,it is mine, I can do whatever I like to improve it. I have been known to scrimp on food/clothes just to afford my repairs but I am proud of that.

I was educated in the 60s and we were all told to expect to aim for a good job or we would end up as 'fodder for the factories'.

Therefore is it not a way of getting those on low incomes to aim for a better job/to save more and to see that being in social housing is fine as a temporary measure but ultimately to aim for their own home. I feel there is still a stigma in living in social housing.

Apart from the well discussed moral arguments regarding the selling off of the remaining Social Housing stock, has anyone actually looked at the financial side? In for example, one of the London Boroughs such as Camden, a three bed house is likely to have a value on the open market of in excess of £800,000 so just what kind of a discount are we talking about here? an 50% discount would still leave £400,000 price. I would also suggest that anyone who can afford to pay a mortgage for £400,000 should be considering whether they should even be in social housing. This is not about helping people, it is about getting rid of central and local government responsibility for housing. If you are in a rented property and have some kind of problem such as serious illness or loss of your job, you will likely get some help, some housing benefit until you are back on your feet. If you have a whopping mortgage you are on your own. I have calmed down this morning after yesterday's initial anger at this proposal, and I would vehemently disagree with this policy irrespective of the party proposing it as part of their manifesto. It is wrong in every sense and can only make the housing crisis deepen. Soon large cities will be ghost towns, inhabited only by the often absent super rich, Russian oligarchs and exploited foreign labour crammed in 12 to a room by a landlord raking it in from the taxpayer.

Etheltbags1 Well said.

I am sure if this was the Labour Manifesto many on here would think it was wonderful.

May I suggest that people watch the two Inside Out programmes on BBC I player.

I came across them by accident, yesterday.

The Chinese are buying up huge amounts of housing stock, sight unseen, empty and never visited. Sometimes before the properties are built and before they come onto the British open market.

The idea that it is migrant workers who are exploited in rental properties is debunked in the second programme.

The programmes certainly shook some of my ideas, and I thought I was well informed!

x

Nobody will be expected to raise a mortgage for a £400K house is they are living in social housing.

It's 'Right to Buy' not 'Forcing to Buy' surely?

A surprising and perceptive article from the Telegraph.

I dont know what he is thinking of.
I have sort of guessed for a while that he had a bee in his bonnet about housing.
It is like he doesnt thinks things through all the way?
He really really needs to spend some time somewhere near the poverty and low pay level, as I feel and fear that currently, he is almost clueless.

Inside Out, London J52?

Actually Magpie I did say that I disagreed with the irrespective of the party proposing it. I both agree and disagree with areas of all the parties' manifestos, no one party has got it right as far as I am concerned. While I would hope that 'Right to Buy' is not 'Forced to buy' I do wonder what would happen to those tenants who wish to remain as tenants. With a much reduced income stream Housing Associations will be at risk as landlords, thus opening the market for someone like Capita or G4S to take over the running of social housing just like they are slowly taking over the running of a lot of services such as cleaning and ancillary services in hospitals, prisons etc. And we all know what a fantastic job they have made of these areas.

Magpie - I really don't know where you get this idea from that those of us who are left of centre accept everything in Labour's Manifesto. I certsinly don't expect right of centre people to accept everything in the Conservative Manifesto. Politics is far far more complex than that. I never approved to MTs right to buy, I never approved of labour not repealing it and I don't approve of this current idiocy re HA

Agreed Grannytwice and I am very disappointed that we do not seem to have had any condemnation of yesterday's policy of proposed selling of HA homes from any of the other parties.

Very impressed that the Telegraph published that article annodomini but it does just show how very strange the Conservative campaign has become.

I am seriously considering not voting at all.

As I said on another thread our town has been in a labour stranglehold forever. The elected councillors and MP need not do or say anything to get elected as long as they are standing for Labour. As a result our town is in a kind of timewarp. It caters mainly for the elderly (ex miners and ship yard workers) who still blame "Maggie" for everything including the weather.

I therefore ask myself what is the point in voting? So the local Labour big wigs can gloat, get fat on their bloody airport comittee freebies (apparently thats the one they all desperate to be on) and do nothing at all for the town?

I - and this is purely a personal opinion - am in a similar position but in a pretty safe Tory seat gillybob . I have decided that it is worth voting for one of the smaller parties because of the message it sends about FPTP voting and how fed up many are with the two party system and the fact that I approve of the small parties basic stance, even though it won't count in this constituency. I think this works because I would, under no circumstances that I can currently see, vote Conservative. If I was in a safe Labour seat I would have to think about voting for them although I am by no means a natural Labour voter. However, some of the seats whoever they are held by, in some parts of Yorkshire (it doesn't appear to be where I live) seem to be actually held by a brotherhood who vote en masse keeping their toadies in power. I could not vote for them in those circumstances as it is undermining the democratic system.

I'm not sure this is helpful but I hope it helps to know others are having similar issues.