Labour - party of building?

Massive house building in the South already, don’t know about the North?
Def need more social housing tho.
Was horrified to see people demonstrating outside the conference shouting about the Palestinian cause after what just happened in Israel to innocent civilians.Also horrified by the unisex toilets and women having to go into them, what are Labour doing giving in to the trans lobby in this way? Why not have mens and womens toilets and a couple of unisex ones?

ronib

I find Mark Carney’s endorsement of Rachael Reeves a bit disconcerting. It feels as if the Bank of England is only interested in maintaining standard orthodox banking practices and it suggests that Rachael Reeves is definitely one of their own. A safe pair of hands for the Bank. When Labour says the country needs a better growth strategy, that is acceptable to the Bank but when the Conservatives offer the same policy, the reaction is not positively received. Or have I misunderstood?

I feel the same concern about Rachel Reeves.

GrannyGravy13

Whitewavemark2

Starmer is apparently going to say in his speech this afternoon (amongst a lot else) that he intends Labour to devolve the biggest level of power ever to towns and cities. Taking it in effect away from the Westminster bubble.

So devolved towns and cities will have the same powers granted to them as Manchester etc.

Another way of saying Labour doesn’t want the hassle, let’s give it to someone else…

Totally disagree. people have been complaining for years that they are governed from Westminster who have little idea of what is happening. Devolving power to cities will give people more say in what happens to their local area.

Whitewavemark2

Starmer is apparently going to say in his speech this afternoon (amongst a lot else) that he intends Labour to devolve the biggest level of power ever to towns and cities. Taking it in effect away from the Westminster bubble.

So devolved towns and cities will have the same powers granted to them as Manchester etc.

Another way of saying Labour doesn’t want the hassle, let’s give it to someone else…

It’s his other idea for ‘power’ ie energy that I’m really interested in. I do like the idea of creating a national energy company making us self-sustaining on renewable electricity.

That should appeal to the Brexiteers! But it does make good economic sense.

Starmer is apparently going to say in his speech this afternoon (amongst a lot else) that he intends Labour to devolve the biggest level of power ever to towns and cities. Taking it in effect away from the Westminster bubble.

So devolved towns and cities will have the same powers granted to them as Manchester etc.

Cadenza I totally agree. Around here there has been massive house building in the last 10 years. Green fields gobbled up by the hectare. The latest development still has at least 50% of the houses unsold, standing empty.

Meanwhile the traffic chaos has to be seen to be believed. So I’m not sure about this Labour policy at all.

However, what is really going to lose them my vote is the way they are treating people like Jamie Driscoll and others. Starmer can’t cope with diversity. A weak man.

I am pleased to see how well Reeves speech has been received, from economists, businesses, and the party. I noted she nodded towards Bidenomics which of course is expansionist in approach and has successfully grown the US economy since covid.

Reeves has economics running through her blood of course and it is clear that she has the strength and will to tackle what is a shattered economy.

If Labour are lucky enough to win the election🤞🤞🤞 she will be the first female chancellor for 800 years.

I would really like to believe all the current Labour Party advertisements, but I can’t. I’m from a working class family and was born in a very deprived area. The allocation of a decent sized council house near a good primary school when I was very young gave me and my siblings a shove up the ladder. I have voted Labour all my life but I really can’t trust them anymore.

growstuff

GrannyGravy13

growstuff

GG13 It's not true that all properties owned by foreign investors are incredibly expensive. Apparently, a number of commercial retail outlets in my town are owned by foreign landlords. They're part of much bigger portfolios and are bought and sold as commodities and the end result is that retailers can't afford the increasing rents. The landlords themselves couldn't care less about the businesses. To them, the properties are just words on a balance sheet of assets and investments.

Commercial property is totally different to expensive empty homes.

Sorry, I don't understand the essential difference.

Commercial and/or retail units are not necessarily sited where people want to live and have a different usage category which isn’t always possible to change. It is often cheaper to demolish and rebuild rather than refurbish or repurpose.

If the units are empty it could be down to a myriad of reasons particularly retail as the way we shop has changed especially post Covid.

Homes/houses are just that homes, whether they are permanently lived in or not is down to whoever owns them. I for one do not want to live in a Country that can decide to compulsory purchase any home because in their opinion it is empty

Are we going to have legislation on how many days/nights we have to spend at home, how long we leave a home empty whilst deciding whether to sell, rent, rebuild or refurbish?

Larger homes have to apply for change of usage to be converted into apartments or HMO’s , and that’s when Health & Safety get involved, it is far from easy or cheap to do so legitimately and to the correct standard.

GrannyGravy13

growstuff

GG13 It's not true that all properties owned by foreign investors are incredibly expensive. Apparently, a number of commercial retail outlets in my town are owned by foreign landlords. They're part of much bigger portfolios and are bought and sold as commodities and the end result is that retailers can't afford the increasing rents. The landlords themselves couldn't care less about the businesses. To them, the properties are just words on a balance sheet of assets and investments.

Commercial property is totally different to expensive empty homes.

Sorry, I don't understand the essential difference.

Much of the commercial property, hotels, retail parks, distribution centers are owned by international investors, because they know it’s a secure investment, we are always going to need that infrastructure.

Residential is much more difficult because of regulation and taxation issues

Iam64

Our town centre is dead. There are buildings that could be converted into apartments.
We have many old mills, engineering, manufacturing buildings. Demolish and build there. Leave our remaining green belt alone.

Council housing and housing association properties need to be prioritised.

Definitely a better option than building on green belt land which I am vehemently opposed to.

I do have a problem with blanket compulsory purchasing though.

Our town centre is dead. There are buildings that could be converted into apartments.
We have many old mills, engineering, manufacturing buildings. Demolish and build there. Leave our remaining green belt alone.

Council housing and housing association properties need to be prioritised.

growstuff

GG13 It's not true that all properties owned by foreign investors are incredibly expensive. Apparently, a number of commercial retail outlets in my town are owned by foreign landlords. They're part of much bigger portfolios and are bought and sold as commodities and the end result is that retailers can't afford the increasing rents. The landlords themselves couldn't care less about the businesses. To them, the properties are just words on a balance sheet of assets and investments.

Commercial property is totally different to expensive empty homes.

GG13 It's not true that all properties owned by foreign investors are incredibly expensive. Apparently, a number of commercial retail outlets in my town are owned by foreign landlords. They're part of much bigger portfolios and are bought and sold as commodities and the end result is that retailers can't afford the increasing rents. The landlords themselves couldn't care less about the businesses. To them, the properties are just words on a balance sheet of assets and investments.

allsorts I simply don’t recognise your description of the Labour Party

vegansrock

Maybe they should introduce some policies to bring homes that are deliberately left empty are brought into public ownership. Ownership of property by foreign investors and just left unoccupied should be prohibited.

Would this include peoples holiday homes?

What about homes where the owner has died and the families decide what to do?

The properties owned by foreign investors are so far out of reach for all but the top 5% of the U.K. what difference would it make for any Government to compulsory purchase them? Who could afford to live in them even if they were converted into apartments?

I find Mark Carney’s endorsement of Rachael Reeves a bit disconcerting. It feels as if the Bank of England is only interested in maintaining standard orthodox banking practices and it suggests that Rachael Reeves is definitely one of their own. A safe pair of hands for the Bank. When Labour says the country needs a better growth strategy, that is acceptable to the Bank but when the Conservatives offer the same policy, the reaction is not positively received. Or have I misunderstood?

I have heard so many election speeches. Once in power promises melt like snow. It's depressing, I don't trust Keir, he supported Corbyn and Diane Abbot, who'd supported rogue factions, now he's distanced himself, through Covud he never had one idea, just sat there until he knew for certain a point was won and then supported that. Then there's conservatives, the Covid package for people not able to work was the best in Europe, now for most people thats forgotten but it still needs paying for. They don't mention west was positive, imagine if people hadn't had that. Truss what a fiasco, her few days in office must go down as the worst in history, she should not be on a Pension, it's a sick joke. A disgrace, but like most of them she takes the money as if she deserves it, it should be given back to help the people that suffered because if it. . I think I won't be voting, I don't any longer believe any of them, least of all Labour, at least Conservatives seem to support UK which other lot obviously don't. We need a change in government after do many years but you need a good opposition, there just isn't one.

Maybe they should introduce some policies to bring homes that are deliberately left empty are brought into public ownership. Ownership of property by foreign investors and just left unoccupied should be prohibited.

It is good to question I think, but sometimes the answers are there if you read what they have announced.

Whitewavemark2

👀

From Labour’s site

“the next Labour Government will deliver the biggest boost to affordable housing for a generation – with *social and council housing at the heart of Labour's secure homes plan*

I have many questions on this

Funding ?

Land (building on green belt is a big no for me)

Materials (building materials are in short supply and prices have continued to rise, Covid and more lately Ukraine)

Workforce (there is a shortage of skilled builders, plumbers, electricians etc)

Talk is easy as we have found out from Government on multiple occasions

*brought, not brough

Another policy which might help would be one that ringfenced any money from the Right to Buy scheme so that it is used to build more social housing. This should have happened back in the days when Right to Buy was first brough in. Or am I being naive/stupid?