Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Judging the Tories by what they do, not what they say
As we wait the budget, an event that seems to be more significant for Phillip Hammond's future than that of the UK economy, if media reports are to be believed, it is worth considering some of the hype.
Theresa May is reportedly keen to grasp the UK's housing crisis by the neck and sort it out. Already, Ministers have made speeches and suggestions that implies that (a) they understand what needs to be done; and (b) they are going to do it. However, their track record on this issue is not so good.
It is pointless promising massive investment in housing, that x number of homes are going to be built or that measures are going to be put in place to assist builders, if at the end of the day very few, if any new affordable homes are built. And yet that appears to be where we are going with this agenda.
One case in point is illustrated in the Independent. The paper points out that the 2014 Starter Home initiative, which held out the prospect of delivering 200,000 discounted new homes to first-time buyers is yet to see a single one built.
This scheme promised to achieve its target by pushing councils and developers to bring forward unused land and build on old industrial sites, measures that Chancellor Philip Hammond will again pledge to carry out as he allegedly makes housing a key plank of his Budget later today.
At the same time there are claims that Conservative spending plans since 2010 have stripped some £20bn out of UK housebuilding projects, robbing the country of an extra 280,000 homes. Grants to local councils and housing associations to invest in new homes has been cut from £4.1bn in 2010 to £764m last year, a fall of 81 per cent.
If this government is serious about tackling the housing crisis then they need to give money directly to those organisations who will use it to build new affordable homes - housing associations and local councils. They need to help build the infrastructure to free up landlocked sites and they have to legislate to put in place disincentives to stop builders holding onto housing land, preferably some form of land value taxation scheme.
There also needs to be assistance so small builders can access the finance they need and overcome some of the other barriers that hold up development, such as connections to statutory undertakers.
We can no longer afford half-measures and unfulfilled promises. If we are going to tackle this housing crisis then the government needs to go all in and put its money where its mouth is.
Theresa May is reportedly keen to grasp the UK's housing crisis by the neck and sort it out. Already, Ministers have made speeches and suggestions that implies that (a) they understand what needs to be done; and (b) they are going to do it. However, their track record on this issue is not so good.
It is pointless promising massive investment in housing, that x number of homes are going to be built or that measures are going to be put in place to assist builders, if at the end of the day very few, if any new affordable homes are built. And yet that appears to be where we are going with this agenda.
One case in point is illustrated in the Independent. The paper points out that the 2014 Starter Home initiative, which held out the prospect of delivering 200,000 discounted new homes to first-time buyers is yet to see a single one built.
This scheme promised to achieve its target by pushing councils and developers to bring forward unused land and build on old industrial sites, measures that Chancellor Philip Hammond will again pledge to carry out as he allegedly makes housing a key plank of his Budget later today.
At the same time there are claims that Conservative spending plans since 2010 have stripped some £20bn out of UK housebuilding projects, robbing the country of an extra 280,000 homes. Grants to local councils and housing associations to invest in new homes has been cut from £4.1bn in 2010 to £764m last year, a fall of 81 per cent.
If this government is serious about tackling the housing crisis then they need to give money directly to those organisations who will use it to build new affordable homes - housing associations and local councils. They need to help build the infrastructure to free up landlocked sites and they have to legislate to put in place disincentives to stop builders holding onto housing land, preferably some form of land value taxation scheme.
There also needs to be assistance so small builders can access the finance they need and overcome some of the other barriers that hold up development, such as connections to statutory undertakers.
We can no longer afford half-measures and unfulfilled promises. If we are going to tackle this housing crisis then the government needs to go all in and put its money where its mouth is.
