Interesting article by Polly Toynbee on the failure of social housing:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/22/2013-boom-year-bailiffs-slum-landlords
However her analysis is incomplete.
Social housing was originally an intrinsic part of the welfare state and valued by all three political parties.
Post-war housing estates comprised sensible family homes to house local people (local to the Council area whose rate-payers financed them).
In the 1960s the implementation of social housing became degraded by the weird brutalist designs of egotistical architects.
Also in the 1960s and 1970s social housing became politicised by the Labour party who legislated so that people arriving in a particular council area could be given social housing as a priority on the basis of "need" (and typically this favoured demographic groups that tended to vote Labour - without going into details most people will understand where these Labour-voting large families came from).
In the 1980s the Tories responded by selling off council housing to demographic groups that on the whole tended to vote Conservative or by becoming property-owners started to think of themselves as Conservative.
Both politicisations were wrong, but Labour started it, and was by far the most guilty party in all this.
The situation will not change until social housing is paid for by local taxpayers who are happy that their money is going to provide housing for local people who have waited their turn and are the children of their community.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/22/2013-boom-year-bailiffs-slum-landlords
However her analysis is incomplete.
Social housing was originally an intrinsic part of the welfare state and valued by all three political parties.
Post-war housing estates comprised sensible family homes to house local people (local to the Council area whose rate-payers financed them).
In the 1960s the implementation of social housing became degraded by the weird brutalist designs of egotistical architects.
Also in the 1960s and 1970s social housing became politicised by the Labour party who legislated so that people arriving in a particular council area could be given social housing as a priority on the basis of "need" (and typically this favoured demographic groups that tended to vote Labour - without going into details most people will understand where these Labour-voting large families came from).
In the 1980s the Tories responded by selling off council housing to demographic groups that on the whole tended to vote Conservative or by becoming property-owners started to think of themselves as Conservative.
Both politicisations were wrong, but Labour started it, and was by far the most guilty party in all this.
The situation will not change until social housing is paid for by local taxpayers who are happy that their money is going to provide housing for local people who have waited their turn and are the children of their community.
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