Tuesday 14th April

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 7:02 am

Morning all.

Can you imagine the uproar if the Conservatives pledged to force all private landlords to sell to their renters at a heavy discount?

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 7:46 am

Box my ears please someone, am feeling depressed this morning listening to Radio 4.

Tories reviving destructive Thatcher policies, and the siren voices of the Greens pull us closer to the rocks marked 'another five years of the Tories'.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 7:51 am

StephenDolan wrote:Morning all.

Can you imagine the uproar if the Conservatives pledged to force all private landlords to sell to their renters at a heavy discount?

Exactly. It is plain bizarre.
Maybe Labour should say they'd force the private landlords who now own 'right to buy' public housing to sell to their tenants.

& may I remind everyone, the Welsh Labour government has already introduced safeguards on 'right to buy' in areas of housing shortage, and has promised to scrap it altogether if they gain a majority at the Senedd in 2016.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 8:08 am

Ashcroft's info on marginals, 3 gains for Labour.

tinybgoat · Post by **tinybgoat** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 8:11 am

Rachel Sylvester, writing in the Times (paywall),
says the Tories desperately need a positive song to
sing .

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/c ... 410194.ece" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It ain't over til the fat lardy swings.
(sorry, i.meant fat lady sings,
damn that predictive texting)

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 8:22 am

Teresa May having a terrible time trying to explain the new steal a housing association home and give it away for votes policy. Humphreys is actually giving her a bit of a grilling. He's asked her about the unfairness of the policy for those renting privately .... no answer from her. He's asked her where the money for compensating the housing associations for selling their properties at way under market value is coming from. It's coming from them telling local authorities to sell of their most expensive property / stock apparently. But when asked she had no idea how much that would raise. And as far as I can see that's more pauperising of the local authorities - it's not a central govt funded cost. She's floundering. Still no answer for where the extra 8 billion annually for the NHS is coming from.

And now Humphreys is asking her about the 'nasty' party - and she's trying hard to avoid it - unsuccessfully. She keeps going away from what Michael Fallon said - clearly doesn't want to address it.

Morning all.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 8:24 am

Jim Pickard retweeted
Jules Birch ‏@jules_birch 5m5 minutes ago
Theresa May sounds like she was briefed about this right to buy in the taxi on the way to the Today programme studio

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 8:25 am

Kevin Maguire ‏@Kevin_Maguire 14m14 minutes ago
Right to Buy is Right to Steal by the Government says @RevRichardColes who sits on a Housing Assoc. Not Cameron's to sell

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 8:29 am

RobertSnozers wrote:I hear the Tories are going to allow people to buy their own hospital bed if they've been waiting in A&E more than four hours

& allow them to rent it out to the next patient for profit ?

mikems · Post by **mikems** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 8:30 am

I want the right to buy my privately owned flat. Why can't I?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 8:34 am

May2015 Election ‏@May2015NS 13m13 minutes ago
Wow. Labour are beating Tories on the ground in every single seat #Ashcroft polled last week. Not even close.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 8:38 am

For those who've been worried about Toby L, he's BTL on AS's blog today.

SpinningHugo · Post by **SpinningHugo** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 8:41 am

Nice punchy explanation of the stupidity of latest 'right to buy' foolishness

http://www.housing.org.uk/media/blog/ex ... tractions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A free pony policy if ever I saw one.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 8:46 am

Extending Right to Buy to housing associations and other distractions
http://www.housing.org.uk/media/blog/ex ... tractions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Response to Tories' latest stupid evil from the chief of the National Housing Federation. He completely debunks any and all of their attempts at justifying it as either fair or deliverable - let alone legal.

All the efforts of housing associations, local authorities and others are geared towards ending this housing crisis by building new homes and regenerating existing homes where that is the best solution. The Right to Buy makes that more difficult. For those housing associations that already have the preserved RTB, the discounts of up to £102,500 make the government’s commitment to 1-1 replacement a hollow joke. Here’s just one example. Phoenix Community Housing in London recently sold a home worth £210,000 on the open market for just over half of that. From the proceeds, some went back to the Treasury, some to the local authority leaving a receipt of just £27,000. Have you tried building a new home for £27,000?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:01 am

Richard Coles @RevRichardColes · 1h 1 hour ago
So a Housing Association, like @WHOMES_HR on whose board I sit, goes to the market, raises finance, does deals with contractors and...(1/3)

Richard Coles @RevRichardColes · 1h 1 hour ago
....builds urgently needed units for people to live in at social rents and then the government forces us to sell them off at a 35%...(2/3)

Richard Coles @RevRichardColes · 1h 1 hour ago
.... discount. That's #righttobuy ? Sounds like Right to Steal to me.

Richard Coles @RevRichardColes · 1h 1 hour ago
These homes, btw, were built AFTER the transfer of local authority stock to the Association and never were council houses.

Richard Coles @RevRichardColes · 1h 1 hour ago
@Darren_Fewins Maybe indeed - my point is that the government does not own these assets so how can it sell them? #righttobuy

Richard Coles @RevRichardColes · 1h 1 hour ago
@John_J_C_Moss @RachelAFisher But John by what 'right' goes the govt sell off assets which don't belong to it?

Richard Coles @RevRichardColes · 58m 58 minutes ago
@John_J_C_Moss @RachelAFisher Some HCA grant funding sure, but how does that confer title? And we're building 500 new homes post Transfer.

Richard Coles @RevRichardColes · 56m 56 minutes ago
@Robert_J_M_T @redrumlisa But these properties belong to the Housing Associations!

Richard Coles @RevRichardColes · 23m 23 minutes ago
@rac240464 @Kevin_Maguire Nearly all of the finance for our new build comes from the banks, not the HCA.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:01 am

David Orr
‏@natfedDavid
To be clear Teresa May @BBCr4today we did not assume all would buy at once. Our figures detailed and conservative. Where can we find yours?

https://twitter.com/natfedDavid/status/ ... 9442446336

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:02 am

Good-morning.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:07 am

mikems wrote:I want the right to buy my privately owned flat. Why can't I?

Hey, comrade, I like your question. Can you imagine the look on Dave's face when his London tenants give him 30% of market value on their digs & calling it good? Or Richard Benyon? Richard Benyon's property portfolio crisis!

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:10 am

Richard Coles @RevRichardColes · 23m 23 minutes ago
@rac240464 @Kevin_Maguire Nearly all of the finance for our new build comes from the banks, not the HCA.

(my bold)
Thanks for these notes, RR2.
Oh, dear.

mikems · Post by **mikems** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:19 am

They had an extra day to think about it...and came up with this load of old cobblers.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:21 am

yahyah wrote:Ashcroft's info on marginals, 3 gains for Labour.

Three gains, two ties, two more in play. Not bad for seats needing a 5% swing or more

Rees-Mogg does seem rather disconcertingly popular, though........

mikems · Post by **mikems** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:21 am

That Lynton Crosby is a political genius.

We should get a banner made up, like the Liverpool fans did.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:26 am

I'd advise Tiny to avoid Cif today. Greens nearly as mind exploding as extreme Nats.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:32 am

mikems wrote:They had an extra day to think about it...and came up with this load of old cobblers.

Have only just caught up with what's happening.

Re the right to buy. It sounds rather like a Communist solution to me. It's what they'd be saying if Labour had come up with it.

WelshIan · Post by **WelshIan** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:32 am

Morning everyone.

I haven't watched Newsnight in a long time, but watched most of it last night after Jack Dee's rather poor election 'comedy' panel show (including the now obligatory dig at Ed M).

Allegra Stratton on the Labour manifesto was rather sneery, especially the end where she said something along the lines of 'well, at least Ed Miliband tried'. Then we had the pleasure of Kirsty Wark interrupting and talking over Tristram Hunt. There was a nice moment in the interview though, where she mentioned Nick Clegg and Hunty had to visibly stop himself from laughing out loud.
Funnily enough, she let him talk when he was struggling with the volunteer child care at primary schools (mainly on the cost of DBS checks, etc).

I won't be watching again, and the BBC have likely lost me for Election Night. Anyone got any views on which would be the best channel to watch?

FuriousGeorge · Post by **FuriousGeorge** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:34 am

WelshIan wrote:Morning everyone.

I haven't watched Newsnight in a long time, but watched most of it last night after Jack Dee's rather poor election 'comedy' panel show (including the now obligatory dig at Ed M).

Allegra Stratton on the Labour manifesto was rather sneery, especially the end where she said something along the lines of 'well, at least Ed Miliband tried'. Then we had the pleasure of Kirsty Wark interrupting and talking over Tristram Hunt. There was a nice moment in the interview though, where she mentioned Nick Clegg and Hunty had to visibly stop himself from laughing out loud.
Funnily enough, she let him talk when he was struggling with the volunteer child care at primary schools (mainly on the cost of DBS checks, etc).

I won't be watching again, and the BBC have likely lost me for Election Night. Anyone got any views on which would be the best channel to watch?

I never thought I would say this but I have started watching Sky News recently. I dunno whether they have just given up but I have found that whilst they still have bias they are a lot more balanced than the BBC is now.

And I never thought I would say that in a million years.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 9:44 am

I would like to be a fly on the wall of Bracknell Forest Homes this morning.

Bracknell council handed over all their stock and supporting departments [repairs, groundwork] to them. I happen to know there are some avid Tories running Bracknell Forest Homes and they do very nicely when it comes to working conditions etc - That's office staff, not the blue collar workers.

The council still manages waiting lists. Huge already.

I'm still pondering all the scenarios. One likely outcome would be less homes to manage = reducing staff. That won't please them.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:00 am

yahyah wrote:Ashcroft's info on marginals, 3 gains for Labour.

Something awfully satisfying that one of those projected Labour gains is Thatcher's old seat. The psychological value of taking that seat should not be underestimated.

Re. the Gidiot's latest give away, nice to see it unraveling within the allotted time frame; great start to their manifesto launch day, announce a flashy policy that is so crass even John Humphreys thinks it a step too far. Well done to the Reverend Richard, he is 'Good People' and not the lightweight some mistake him for, as the Tories are finding out to their cost this morning.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:09 am

Recently read that most BTL landlords are buying on interest only mortgages. What happens when interest rates rise, as they inevitably will at some point?
They'll be wanting to unload their properties, and if Tories get back in and make social housing dead cheap will the two combined bring property prices down creating negative equity for private buyers who've also taken advantage of the low interest rates?

Whatever happens I would be very hesitant to invest in a property right now and if I were a BTL landlord, I'd be thinking of unloading my portfolio, or at least slimming it down while prices are high.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:10 am

David Schneider ‏@davidschneider · 11h11 hours ago
Telegraph: "Tories are the party of working people". In other news, lions are the Health & Safety team for antelopes.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:17 am

Something else I've thought of. If Tories get in ZH and low paid work will become even more widespread. If he's going to tax benefits, they're going to be worse off than now.
Even with huge discounts there's no way most of those poor souls will qualify for a mortgage, or is George going to fiddle around with that too.

FuriousGeorge · Post by **FuriousGeorge** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:19 am

Did the tories remove the requirement on developers to build a certain % of affordable homes on new builds? Seem to remember something about that somewhere.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:26 am

Good morfternoon.

It shouldn't be too difficult to demolish this latest cunning plan re housing. Appalling though I find this latest wheeze (which is, or at least borders on the, illegal) I'm rather glad and relieved that this is the best that they could come up with. It should be easy to explain, simply, why this is such a crap idea - repeating, as it does, the mistakes of the past (Einstein supposedly had something to say on this).

Let's get "unpicking".

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:33 am

Right to buy had such bad consequences.
My kids went to a village primary school.Very expensive area,within grammar school catchment.
Council houses discreetly tucked away,bought for as little as 30,000.00
Now all have changed hands,average of 250,000.And,of course,local rural families kids grow up and can't afford to buy or rent a home.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:38 am

I've seen the cover of the Tory manifesto.

David Cameron ✔ @David_Cameron
This is the cover of our manifesto.
At its heart is a simple proposition: security at every stage of your life.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/liv ... 9b1f5e46ca" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'll look for the contents of the Tory manifesto for 2015 now.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:47 am

FuriousGeorge wrote:Did the tories remove the requirement on developers to build a certain % of affordable homes on new builds? Seem to remember something about that somewhere.

Yep, FuriousGeorge, you're absolutely correct. I'm still looking for the Tory manifesto, by the way.
22 April 2014

The leadership of Milton Keynes has said the decision to water down the affordable homes requirement for developers has ‘swung the balance much too far in favour of the developers’.

The deputy leader of a Conservative council attacked the government for ‘storing up problems for the future’ by allowing developers to scrap affordable homes to protect profits.

Council figures show the town will build 500 fewer affordable homes over the next five years because of the amendments 12 months ago to planning laws. An example given by the council was the re-submission of a development, which was scheduled to have 63 affordable homes, with no affordable homes on the grounds of profitability.

Emma Reynolds, shadow housing minister, said to the Guardian: ‘There is a massive shortage of affordable homes across the country. Now even leading Tory councillors are attacking their own government for their failed housing policies.’

The news comes after the planning minister admitted the government will not set an affordable housing target for its new wave of garden cities and instead planning decisions will be ‘locally-led’ with the decision over the number of affordable homes falling to councils.

Local authorities’ power to demand affordable housing in developments was significantly weakened by the introduction of ‘viability testing’ which allows developers to reduce or remove affordable homes if it would make the scheme unprofitable.

http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/governme ... 33.article" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:52 am

This just out from Labour Shadow Housing Minister, Emma Reynolds:

“This is yet another uncosted, unfunded and unbelievable announcement from the Tories.

“Having exhausted the magic money tree, the Tories now want people to believe that they can magic up billions of pounds a year from selling off a few council homes. Last year that raised just over £100 million, while this policy costs £4.5 billion a year.

“Under David Cameron home ownership is at its lowest point for three decades – there are over 200,000 fewer home owners since 2010.

http://press.labour.org.uk/post/1163320 ... d-unfunded" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:54 am

RobertSnozers wrote:
yahyah wrote:
RobertSnozers wrote:I hear the Tories are going to allow people to buy their own hospital bed if they've been waiting in A&E more than four hours
& allow them to rent it out to the next patient for profit ?
Well of course. We have to encourage that sort of aspiration and entrepreneurial spirit

Egads, RobertSnozers, quit writing the Tory manifesto, will you!

FuriousGeorge · Post by **FuriousGeorge** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:55 am

Good to see Lynton is coming up with imaginative fresh ideas!

http://labourlist.org/2015/04/where-hav ... -familiar/

Will take down images if theres any copyright issues.

utopiandreams · Post by **utopiandreams** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:56 am

I hear Grant Shapps' printers have received a rush order. With little time to spare he's been asked to provide all the electoral voting slips for the General Election. Should you put an X in the Conservative box you shall be entered into a free draw. Cash prizes available at tax-payers expense.

No more ridiculous than giving away 35-50% of housing association properties and rather less sneaky than giving government contracts at advantageous rates to their party donors.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 10:57 am

I see they're trying to keep some ministers well-hidden away for fear of scaring the voters...at the BM this morning.

Nick Boles - standing in for Matt Hancock - for the Conservatives said some “big global corporations are taking the mickey” in relation to tax avoidance. To the audience of accountants and business bosses he suggested they ask a nurse before adopting a tax avoidance strategy. If she gets angry then you probably shouldn’t do it, he said.

He really is utterly useless. And Boles isn't much better...I'm sure that'll be taken to heart by multi-nationals.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 11:03 am

I think I saw (I can't find it at the mo), over at the Guardian, that Frank Field thinks this "right to buy" thing is a good idea.

I take back all I said, then . . . .

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 11:16 am

PorFavor wrote:I think I saw (I can't find it at the mo), over at the Guardian, that Frank Field thinks this "right to buy" thing is a good idea.

I take back all I said, then . . . .

He's probably got the paperwork ready to give every former Tory MP landlord the scare of their lives.

Everything must go! All property discounted 70%! Own your former Tory MP landlord property today!

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 11:19 am

Conservative manifesto - Early highlights
Here are some early highlights from the Tory manifesto. Journalists have only had it in their hands for a few minutes.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/liv ... 9b1f5e46ff" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Sacred Tory Holy Scroll Manifesto 2015

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 11:20 am

Morning

Iain Martin @iainmartin1
Follow
Tory manifesto: "We have a plan for every stage of your life." Isn't that the Chinese Communist party?

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 11:32 am

How do you "overturn what's inevitable"? (David Cameron's manifesto launch speech)

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 11:37 am

Oh - and more tax cuts? This £8 bn for the NHS is getting to be more of a scotch mist by the second.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 11:40 am

'Overturn what's inevitable' - Cameron
That's just plain scary, PorFavor.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 11:43 am

Nick Clegg's "alarm clock Britain" is resurrected by David Cameron.

At least he's managed to stagger through this without mentioning his son, Ivan.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Tue 14 Apr, 2015 11:45 am

RobertSnozers wrote:Right to buy 'wrong in every way imaginable'

http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2015 ... maginable/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yes - good, isn't it?