Dear as houses

Pete Firmin has a good piece on housing in the latest Labour Briefing. One paragraph in particular hits home about a very live issue in London,

Even when housing is built by local authorities (still a scarcity) or planning permission granted for housing associations or private builders, it is more expensive than it need be. There is much debate around terms like "affordable housing/ rents" and "social rents". The irony is that "affordable" means around 80% of market prices. So even when local authorities insist that developers include "affordable" housing in their schemes - something that happens less and less often - it is far from affordable. Much housing being built in London is built specifically with foreign investors in mind, some being advertised in Singapore before London!

On that last point, the trend towards properties functioning as global speculative investments rather than anything as crudely passe as homes has been helped along by London's own mayor.

That there is a housing crisis in Britain, and especially in London, is widely recognised. As Pete points out though, there is a high level of general political uselessness in proposing solutions. This is an area on which the Left needs to focus attention. Developing joined-up thinking on housing will require analysis, requiring an understanding of how land prices, the low potential for efficiency gains in the housing industry, a culture of home ownership (in turn tied up increasingly with the demonisation of socially housed people), government support for house purchases, and the global exposure of the British housing market give rise to a situation where, on the one hand, ordinary people cannot afford to live in urban centres and, on the other, the effect of the bubble-prone housing market is disastrous, with much of the much-trumpeted current growth being the fictitious creature of housing demand.

This analysis, and policy arising out of it, is a job of work. But, with an eye cast towards this year's local elections and next year's general election, if you want two popular and effective policies that are a vast improvement on the present bi-partisan alliance with property developers and the 'regeneration' agenda, here's two: rent control and council housing building. Now, come on Ed, you've been asked to think boldly.