Tim Farron has put David Cameron’s new housing policy under the microscope and found it wanting. We should take notice of what he says because he knows a lot about housing, the issue that brought him into politics and has made his number one priority. Writing in the New Statesman, he says:

This is still an economically illiterate and socially divisive policy with devastating consequences, which was flung into the Conservative election campaign in a last minute attempt to grab some votes by invoking memories of Thatcher.

Firstly, selling off housing association homes does nothing to address the national emergency in housing. The huge shortage of affordable homes in the UK causes millions of people to suffer on a daily basis, with 1.6 million people on social housing waiting lists, unable to get on with their lives. The government’s plans still mean giving huge cash handouts to a tiny minority, while making things worse for many others.

Secondly, the policy will be funded by selling off what the government considers ‘high value’ council houses which will slash affordable homes in crucial areas. These are not huge mansions but very ordinary homes, which happen to be in areas where house prices are soaring. The government’s approach should be to build more houses in those areas, not to force those living there out.

Thirdly, there is no requirement for replacement homes to be built in the same area as those sold off. This means affordable homes will be depleted in certain areas, breaking down communities and resulting in social cleansing as people are forced elsewhere. For a party that supposedly upholds family values, they seem completely ignorant of the fact that their policies rip them apart.

You can read the whole article here.

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