At it's recent meeting Leeds North West CLP passed the following housing resolution which included affiliating to our campaign. “This CLP welcomes the recognition by Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, that Council housing is a vital element of any credible plan to tackle the UK’s … Continue reading Leeds North West CLP affiliates to Labour Campaign for Council Housing
Author: lcfch
Austerity by another name: “Exceptional Financial Support”
There can be no resolution of the housing crisis without a break from austerity The financial crisis of local government is spiralling out of control. 30 councils have been granted “Exceptional Financial Support” which offers no support but only more debt. Does this impact on Housing Revenue Accounts, which are 'ring-fenced'? How does the crisis … Continue reading Austerity by another name: “Exceptional Financial Support”
Above inflation rent increase won’t resolve the council housing financial crisis
Rather than proposing to increase the financial pressure on tenants with above inflation rent increases, councils should be seeking the support of tenants in a campaign for the government to fund HRAs sufficiently to maintain and improve existing homes. Support for the government's proposal for 5 years of above inflation rent increases for council and … Continue reading Above inflation rent increase won’t resolve the council housing financial crisis
“There can be no renaissance of council housing if existing homes are allowed to deteriorate”
There is a question mark hanging over the future of council housing. 109 Councils signed the document “Securing the Future of Council Housing”, which warned that “Unless something is done soon, most council landlords will struggle to maintain their existing homes adequately or meet huge new demands to improve them, let alone build new homes … Continue reading “There can be no renaissance of council housing if existing homes are allowed to deteriorate”
Background to the Labour Campaign for Council Housing
These are the notes of a speech by Carol Hayton, founding member of the Labour Campaign for Council Housing, given to Witney CLP. Formed in 2019 by a group of Labour members who were concerned about the housing crisis and the lack of political will, on the part of successive governments, to take any meaningful … Continue reading Background to the Labour Campaign for Council Housing
Local democracy and council housing
A series of government measures threaten to undermine local democracy and give developers and the big builders a free pass to step up their profiteering. The government's Devolution White Paper proposes imposing change on councils based on an arbitrary figure of 500,000 population. It is proposing to impose tenure blind housing targets on councils which … Continue reading Local democracy and council housing
Do we really want more “poor quality/slum housing”?
The government should end conversions without planning permission Early in 2024 Labour opposed the extension of Permitted Development Rights on the basis that it would “add to the quantum of poor-quality/slum housing that post-2013 PDR expansion has created”. Yet the new government has refused to bin this planning deregulation. It says it will “keep it … Continue reading Do we really want more “poor quality/slum housing”?
Planning isn’t the problem but “an overwhelming lack of investment in social rent homes”
The government has introduced mandatory housing targets on councils and is proposing changes to planning rules which would concentrate more power in the hands of unelected council officers. There is a fundamental contradiction between the government's talk of devolving power away from Westminster and its decision to impose mandatory house building targets on local authorities. … Continue reading Planning isn’t the problem but “an overwhelming lack of investment in social rent homes”
Planning changes – “divorced from the reality of how the housebuilding market currently operates”
Sarah Calkin, editor of the Local Government Chronicle, writing in relation to the government's planning changes, writes that “The government’s analysis – that the country is in the grip of an acute housing crisis and urgent action is needed – is not disputed. But its unrelenting portrayal of the planning system and local democracy as … Continue reading Planning changes – “divorced from the reality of how the housebuilding market currently operates”
Where’s the council housing revolution?
We have had the relaunch, but where is Angela Rayner’s Council Housing revolution? On more than one occasion since being appointed Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner has said that the government overhaul of the planning system will result in a council house revolution, delivering “the biggest boost to social … Continue reading Where’s the council housing revolution?
Labour Campaign for Council Housing 