The Vulnerable Continue To Be Villified...
As economic cuts are made to many of the things that make society work and stop it falling apart, they are putting proposals forward that are as good as cuts...
Such as the proposals on Social Housing. The last time this was mentioned it was heavily criticised and it looked as though the idea was dropped but it's been resurrected again.
This is one time where the Lib Dems(who is keeping the Government in power)could and should think of making a stand(and they hint that they will)but if they think they will never be voted into power again, they may just roll over and go along with the proposals. They could show their metal and make a stance and get some respect from the public again.
It will need all parties and independent MP's to work together.
The only slight chink of light is that those who are already tenants may be allowed to keep a roof over their heads and it's new tenants that will have to jump through all the extra hoops.
If people are going to be continually moved on or worried that they can afford a property I could quite understand some saying why should we put money into keeping a property in good condition, even when renting you'll do some repairs to a property rather than wait for the landlord or have to because the properties owner has less money for such work.
The problem is a lack of housing stock for so many reasons for those who want to start a life in their own home(My parents started married life in the home of my Mum's parents)a lack of new builds under all Governments, the right to buy, property being sold privately is too high, the same is often true on private rented property.
The cap on housing benefit will hurt those who have to take it but even if you could survive that worry now they propose a rise in rent of at least 50% so you will be attacked from two sides. Many are worried that we'll see a lot of homelessness. If the rent rises and the cap doesn't you're up the creek.
Many genuine people in work/out of work will be very worried and stressed.
Again, even those in work are now to hear that some kind of formula that keeps the train fares down is to be scrapped and season tickets will rise by such a large amount its bound to eat into the income they have and with all the cuts, its like a double whammy...oh we are all so in this together...not!
After the story about the Aircraft carriers being built which will cost so much they cannot actually have any planes for 5-8 years...it's reported that the Ark Royal is to be scrapped more or less immediately!
It is a frightening world.
Some of the rhetoric between certain sections of society and how they are turning against each other is quite nasty. Most of it is whipped up by the media and the Government. It's all spin.
Update:If we are to believe what the newspapers say(and we'll find out soon enough)it appears that the Lib Dems have rolled over and given in on the proposals on Social Housing. Some things can be rushed through Parliament seemingly without much trouble, other things have to be discussed and voted on and I cannot quite decide which side these proposals fall.
Such as the proposals on Social Housing. The last time this was mentioned it was heavily criticised and it looked as though the idea was dropped but it's been resurrected again.
This is one time where the Lib Dems(who is keeping the Government in power)could and should think of making a stand(and they hint that they will)but if they think they will never be voted into power again, they may just roll over and go along with the proposals. They could show their metal and make a stance and get some respect from the public again.
It will need all parties and independent MP's to work together.
The only slight chink of light is that those who are already tenants may be allowed to keep a roof over their heads and it's new tenants that will have to jump through all the extra hoops.
If people are going to be continually moved on or worried that they can afford a property I could quite understand some saying why should we put money into keeping a property in good condition, even when renting you'll do some repairs to a property rather than wait for the landlord or have to because the properties owner has less money for such work.
The problem is a lack of housing stock for so many reasons for those who want to start a life in their own home(My parents started married life in the home of my Mum's parents)a lack of new builds under all Governments, the right to buy, property being sold privately is too high, the same is often true on private rented property.
The cap on housing benefit will hurt those who have to take it but even if you could survive that worry now they propose a rise in rent of at least 50% so you will be attacked from two sides. Many are worried that we'll see a lot of homelessness. If the rent rises and the cap doesn't you're up the creek.
Many genuine people in work/out of work will be very worried and stressed.
Again, even those in work are now to hear that some kind of formula that keeps the train fares down is to be scrapped and season tickets will rise by such a large amount its bound to eat into the income they have and with all the cuts, its like a double whammy...oh we are all so in this together...not!
After the story about the Aircraft carriers being built which will cost so much they cannot actually have any planes for 5-8 years...it's reported that the Ark Royal is to be scrapped more or less immediately!
It is a frightening world.
Some of the rhetoric between certain sections of society and how they are turning against each other is quite nasty. Most of it is whipped up by the media and the Government. It's all spin.
Update:If we are to believe what the newspapers say(and we'll find out soon enough)it appears that the Lib Dems have rolled over and given in on the proposals on Social Housing. Some things can be rushed through Parliament seemingly without much trouble, other things have to be discussed and voted on and I cannot quite decide which side these proposals fall.
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 4:32 am
7 Comments:
The Lib Dems are part of the Coalition Gildy, theya re not "keeping it in power".
I see the Ark Royal info amongst other stuff was leaked to the Telegraph...again! This is one of the things that most pissed me off about New Labour and it is continuing now with the Coalition. Not sure whether it is snidy civil servants or politicking politicians but it is wrong.
Not sure what you mean by the last paragraph but I have no doubt you're right that things will get nasty.
Well, I always understood that Parliament was where information should be announced first.
Usually, a politician would hint or use the press and media but any concrete plans would be met with "You'll have to wait until our plans are announced in Parliament"
They say that when interviewed on tv and radio programmes and the news too.
But I am sure contacts are given information, maybe they hope it doesn't look as bad, if it is released a little here and a little there.
They dislike it when information is released not as they have planned. Then they start internal investigations to find out who leaked it.
My last paragraph is highlighting those who not only castigate the fiddlers/scroungers but everyone is lumped together with no real proof, much of which is again fed by the media or is anecdotal.
Now they are quite openly having a go at the genuine sick, elderly and vulnerable and lumping them all together.
It is not easy to obtain help for many, there are many hoops to jump through and until those who are very loudly expressing their ignorant opinions on phone-ins etc(and some radio stations have presenters who are whipping up the public unrest)and until they find themselves in such a situation they have no idea what it's like.
You could ask what someone sitting behind a mike on probably a very nice wage contributes to society.
Again a lot of what they say is just opinions but it's taken as fact.
Often it is hard to find unbiased, real news...there is always a slant.
Another point even if you did limit how long someone has tenancy on a social home, the idea is that they are affordable but with the proposed rise in rent(they want to bring rents up)to match properties in the area that are not in the social sector, surely that will stop those that need such housing from being able to move into affordable properties defeating the reason for such housing.
So why bother and will any affordable housing even exist?
If your income rises above a certain amount they are saying move into the private sector but you'll need a better income to be able to move into private renting.
Your income will probably be reduced anyhow because of the cap on housing benefit too.
Already when questioned many private landlords have said they have no plans to reduce what they ask from their tenants rentwise even for those who are on low incomes and knowing the cap on housing benefit that's coming. So that doesn't help.
Here's a radical thought...maybe they hope to get rid of social housing altogether?
Thanks for all that Gildy, I agree taht the media doesn't relaly help.
I have to admit I was shocked to hear that some council houses are passsed on, hereditary...eh? And that many thousands can easily afford "normal" housing but stick in a council house whilst others are homeless becasue of it. Obviously nobody should generalise but certainly something needs sorting.
I doubt they wish to get rid of all social housing, too much risk unless there is a firm grip on the landlords.
It is not as straight forward as it appears regarding the passing on of property and authorities can and do say no.
You can pick and choose comments for and against any subject but two that I did come across via a phone-in and one left on a website.
A lady finally managed to get a home via a housing association for herself and her two children after years of trying and in doing so because it's affordable she has come off housing benefit.
She now is fearful that this joy is shortlived as if they increase the rent by 80% she will have to apply again for help to pay the rent.
She may have to agree to a short term tenancy and...if she cannot pay because of the cap on help she could find herself homeless or looking for alternative property in the private sector...again.
Another person has been waiting for 9 years for a house that will offer more room for herself and 5 children(we never found out the ages of the chidren or whether she had a husband/partner)but putting that aside, if social housing is again being affected as previously said, chances are what she is looking for would still be out of her reach so she'd be no better off and it's not affordable housing.
Now an MP has just said that when the promised 150,000 social homes are built in the next 4 years they will be affordable and having so many home in an area will mean that increases on property that is being brought up to the average of an area will mean they will be affordable.
Perhaps if they are built in the same area but if you have so many here and so many there I cannot see that being true and using my own area(probably because of the right to buy many years ago)this area is nearly all private properties but you find as an example you might have 25 private and 5 that were built as social and are still being used as social so I assume they would increase considerably because of the ratio of private homes.
And I still haven't gone into how the vulnrable will be hit by the other proposals announced.
It's unusual for me to talk politics and I always try to see all sides of an argument, I'll praise or citicise where I see fit so I'm not tied to a particular parties idiology.
I'll also be the first to admit that I may not necessarily have a solution.
Hello Gildy, this is clearly a subjetc close to your heart and something you have thought about long and hard, nothing wrong with that so don't apologise for "talking political".
There may not be an easy solution, in fact there isn't, the hard thing is making it fair for everyone (almost impossible)
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