Housing
Grill the minister: Mark Prisk
Mark Prisk took over as housing minister in September’s reshuffle, and has quite a task on his hands to get housebuilding figures looking healthy again. The Conservative MP was previously… Continue reading
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What will the coalition do next?
We are now closer to the 2015 election than the 2010 one. We also expected by now to have the coalition’s mid-term review, the document that will set out its… Continue reading
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Exclusive: No 10 advised to punish land hoarders
Though the government’s planning reforms will make it easier for developments supported by local communities to gain planning permission, one of the big blockages in the system is made up… Continue reading
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Tensions over housebuilding plans
This morning’s big housebuilding announcement was aimed at unblocking obstacles in the planning system to get development of new homes and extensions going. But it hasn’t unblocked tensions within the… Continue reading
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David Cameron is right to challenge NIMBYism
The planning debate has reared its head again, and this time it’s personal. David Cameron is now calling on people to stop their ‘familiar cry’ of opposition to new housing… Continue reading
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Working families risk being shut out by Montague row
Today’s publication of the Montague Review into institutional investment in build-to-let addresses an important gap in our housing market. Large numbers of people, and a growing number of families, who… Continue reading
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Why a Labour council is selling expensive housing stock
The Policy Exchange report Ending Expensive Social Tenancies has predictably provoked a renewed debate about council housing and the value of genuinely mixed communities. It was welcomed by the right… Continue reading
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There’s no right to live in Chelsea
Your local council owns prime real estate and could sell it to build new social houses. Housing Minister Grant Shapps says the appeal of this idea promoted by Policy Exchange… Continue reading
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Cameron’s sub-prime thinking
You’d think the American sub-prime crisis would have taught politicians the world over not to try to rig the housing market. But no, David Cameron is back on it today… Continue reading
46 CommentsProperty Roulette: The Government’s Pursues a Losing Strategy
If you ever needed reminding that government is a series of swings and roundabouts ensuring that what you gain on one you lose on the other, consider the coalition’s plans… Continue reading
2 CommentsThe government’s housing policies don’t match its strong rhetoric
Yesterday’s housing strategy offered a mortgage guarantee for first-time buyers of new properties, one of the few new announcements in a document largely consisting of re-hashed policy. At best, the… Continue reading
22 CommentsThere’s merit in the Coalition’s housing proposals
The government’s announcement on housing today is an attempt to square the circle. On the one hand, a return to excessive lending and sub-prime mortgages is clearly not a good… Continue reading
58 CommentsTrust in bricks and mortar
If George Osborne is serious about growth, a relatively easy decision awaits him: to stimulate the economy by spending more on housebuilding. David Cameron knows there’s a problem, and during… Continue reading
35 CommentsShapps sharpens the Right to Buy
It’s a day for growth initiatives. In addition to those described earlier, George Osborne has announced that Whitehall’s annual underspend will be reinvested into capital spending projects. The emphasis on… Continue reading
9 CommentsWhy mansion tax makes sense
Messy deals and fudged compromises: an inevitable feature of coalition politics. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the resulting policy will always be bad. As a result of grubby negotiations in Downing… Continue reading
42 CommentsAnother voice: Dale Farm reprieved
This is the second of our occasional ‘another voice’ series. Siobhan Courtney reports again from Dale Farm. The outcome was not what anyone expected: the bailiffs are not getting into… Continue reading
31 CommentsThe right to own is not all right
There was much to commend in Chris Skidmore’s article in the Telegraph earlier this week, calling for a radical approach to public services. But there’s one bit that’s worth dissecting:… Continue reading
10 CommentsClegg biography claims the Lib Dems want a new coalition agreement
Lib Dem conference this year brings with it the serialisation of Jasper Gerard’s biography of Nick Clegg. The focus will be on the claims that deputy Prime Minister has promised… Continue reading
11 CommentsA reminder of two of the political battles ahead for the coalition
If anyone had any doubts about how difficult the politics of banking reform and planning would be for the Conservatives, they’ll be dispelled by a glance at a couple of… Continue reading
15 CommentsThere’ll be no u-turn on planning
This government has developed rather a reputation for u-turning. But I would be extremely surprised if it did one over its planning reforms. When you talk to ministers and advisers… Continue reading
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