At last, a plan to tackle the housing crisis – Labour may just have the answer

By Owen Jones

By pledging to build more homes and regulate the private rented sector, Labour can boost the economy and offer hope to the younger generation

‘The postwar Labour government was committed to building council housing to a higher standard than the private sector: let’s bring that pledge back.’ Photograph: David Davies/PA

Britain’s housing crisis is bad news for a multitude of reasons. It is bad news for children, whose health, wellbeing, education and thus potential is damaged by growing up in an overcrowded home. It is bad news for a younger generation who fear that a decent home of their own – something their parents took for granted – is an impossible dream. It is bad news for parents who have to stump up cash (if they have it) for their children’s rip-off rent or deposit, or who have their 26-year-old offspring still living at home. It is bad news for taxpayers who spend over £9bn a year subsidising private landlords. It is bad news for communities, because a lack of affordable housing leaves people feeling as though they are in competition with each other for scarce resources. It is bad news for the economy, because building houses stimulates industries and jobs.

You get the gist. On the badness scale, the housing crisis is bad. Which is why Labour’s pledge to tackle the housing crisis can be presented as good news for kids, young people, parents, taxpayers, communities, and the economy. Here are the challenges. In Tory Britain, we’ve had the lowest levels of peacetime housebuilding since the 1920s: Labour is committed to building a million homes over the next five years. Then there are three prongs of the housing crisis. One: a lack of council housing, leaving hundreds of thousands of families on waiting lists, because we didn’t replace the stock that has been sold off. Two: an unregulated private rented sector defined by high rents and a lack of security. Three: falling home ownership, particularly among the next generation.

To those languishing on waiting lists, Labour can say: we will give councils the power they need to build you comfortable homes you can afford to live in. The postwar Labour government was committed to building council housing to a higher standard than the private sector: let’s bring that pledge back. To private tenants, Labour can say: we will regulate rents and give you secure tenancies, just like other European countries. To aspiring homeowners, Labour must have a compelling offer, too. Concrete policies that help people on the housing ladder: whether it be access to credit for those denied it, or reviewing a bad tax like stamp duty.

Britain should spend taxpayers’ money on building homes, not subsidising landlords: that’s what Labour’s offer means. In one of the richest countries on earth, every family should expect a decent, secure, affordable home as a basic right. Unlocking Britain’s potential: that should be at the heart of Labour’s vision, and resolving a housing crisis holding the country back has to be part of it.


https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/09/labour-tackle-housing-crisis-building