Housing, families and Cuts,

24 June

The current housing crisis and house building numbers is repeating things from years ago. It was around the time of the Perfumo affair that I first remember being aware of politics as a national news item. Shortly after Perfumo there were big argument between Labour and Tories about the number of houses that been built each year under the various government. From memory I seem to remember that they were claiming to have built the most. Now the housing issue is up there at the top of headlines again, and guess what? Yes, that’s right, we have a Tory lead government again!

Last night’s Panorama majored on the issue again. The current housing minister was interviewed and he said that in 2010 when the new government took over, they found that under the previous government 400,000 social housing properties had been sold off. Fine, I didn’t know that; but I do know and what the minister seemed not to worry about is that it was former Tory Prime Muppet Mad Maggie Thatcher who made it possible for councils to sell of their housing stock.

Now it seems that private landlords renting the better quality homes, are refusing to accept DWP claimants as tenants. Those that are current tenants are not being offered renewals on their letting and are being evicted. With fewer social houses available, many families are being made homeless and are forced into temporary housing. The houses they can afford or with landlords that will accept DWP claimants are those at the bottom end of the market, with houses that do not come up to the minimum government standards.

There is a scheme where families who just can’t afford to live in a particular area are moved out to other areas where they can afford to live. That seems fine on the face of it but it ignores that some of these families have been living in an area for generations and by uprooting them their roots are being torn out and its causing untold misery. When asked about this, the minister claimed that it had happened very rarely; the people of Tower Hamlets would strongly disagree with that statement.

He also refused to accept that the whole issue is the cuts being applied by his government. Cuts are happening everywhere; NHS, defence, the benefit system, local government, social services, housing, policing, fire services, transport … … …

Where do we stop with all these cuts? I agree that there needs to be savings but the penny pinching being undertaken by this current lot is just crazy. It’s even crazier when you look at big ticket items like two new aircraft carriers that won’t have aircraft to operate; at the replacement of the current Trident missile system; and the craziest of all crazies, HST2 and the new one that the Muppet money-bag man said an added rout from Manchester to Leeds was needed. How long before Newcastle on Tyne demands to linked up I wonder. Yet none of these are being touched, or even threatened. And don’t forget the billions being poured into Europe as well.

Roll on Next May!!!

Today’s photo then … 

Another one of Kile, this time in the trees.

And today’s funny comes from my new source …

I was speeding down the highway with my wife in the passenger seat, when a cop pulled me over. The cop came to my window and said, “You were speeding sir!” “No it can’t be, I was way under the speed limit!” I said. “Sir, you were doing 70 in a 50 mile per hour zone,” the cop answered. “I was not speeding!” I protested. At this point, my wife leaned over. “Don’t bother, he always gets this stubborn when he’s been drinking!”