DEFEND COUNCIL HOUSING

However you define it we’ve got a housing crisis. The obvious answer is to invest in a third generation of council housing. The first generation provided ‘Homes fit for heroes’ and the second tackled the housing crisis after the Blitz. Investment in decent, affordable and secure housing provided by an accountable landlord makes just as much sense today. The housing crisis hits people in different ways: families stuck in temporary accommodation or suffering chronic overcrowding with several generations sharing a home; millions of young people unable to move out from under their parents’ feet and start a life on their own. And then there’s the ‘home owners’ struggle financially to pay the mortgage or pensioners and ‘right to buy’ leaseholders who may be ‘asset rich’ but are too ‘cash poor’ to maintain their homes. Government says it wants to provide 3 million extra homes to meet housing need but they’re relying on the private sector to deliver. They never have before and there’s no evidence they will now. The familiar ‘private is good – public is bad’ mantra is driving the government’s ‘home ownership’ agenda. It’s also behind proposals to means test and time limit council tenancies so that council housing becomes housing of ‘last resort’ and everyone is forced into the private housing market. The collapse of the sub-prime housing market in the US ought to be a warning but still the government promotes home ownership. The latest gimmick is 10 per cent shared ownership (buy a brick) and they’re pouring massive public subsidies into trying to hook people in. One of the scandals is that the public subsidies on offer are being funded by siphoning money from council tenants’ rents. The subsidies fuel house price inflation and don’t even target those in greatest need (only 15% went to ex council or RSL tenants). At the same time government continues to blackmail some 2.5 million existing council tenants to accept privatisation in order to get improvements to our homes and estates. Private landlordism is only out to make a profit. The so-called ‘not for profit’ sector of Registered Social Landlords (housing associations) is unaccountable and increasingly merging into regional and national multi million pound businesses. The biggest want to float on the stock market. It’s not that council housing is perfect – it isn’t. But the principles of elected local authorities providing “decent, affordable, secure and accountable” council housing has served generations well and make just as much sense today. Defend Council Housing is backed by tenants, trade unionists, councillors and MPs across all parties. It’s been fighting against privatising council housing since 1998. Government says there’s only three privatisation options for councils to get extra money for housing – we want the ‘Fourth Option’ so that councils can improve all their existing homes and estates, start a new council house-building programme and maintain all homes as first class housing for years to come. Organise a delegation of tenants, trade unionists and councillors from your area to attend and lobby your MP to support amendments to the Bill and sign the ‘Investment in Council Housing’ early day motion 368. www.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk RMTnews :: january 2008 :: www.rmt.org.uk 26 Chair of Defend Council Housing Alan Walter asks members to lobby their MPs in defence of social housing provision DEFEND COUNCIL HOUSING