Affordable housing: the political parties' policies >>>>>> the Greens

This blog will attempt to give an (unbiased) overview of the different political parties' take on 'affordable housing', starting with the main party in power:
Futures Forum: Affordable housing: the political parties' policies >>> the Conservatives

Let's take a look at the Greens:

Housing (2004/14)

HO101 Affordable secure accommodation is a basic human need. Those without accommodation and those forced through lack of choice into inadequate or unaffordable housing may lead diminished lives and can be socially excluded, unable to participate fully in the life of the community.

HO102 The inadequate and inequitable provision of housing in this country today is the result of inequalities in access to resources, particularly land, the inability of the free market to meet diverse housing needs and a lack of investment in public housing spanning over two decades. To eradicate these inequalities it is essential to bring housing policies under local participatory democratic control.

HO103 The Green Party seeks a balanced mix of housing tenures, to meet the diverse needs of the community. These include individual and shared home ownership, leasehold, and others. Disincentives to the speculative ownership of housing will be introduced, including higher rates of Council Tax for unoccupied properties and second homes. People must not be forced into home ownership because there is no alternative. The Green Party seeks to increase the amount of social housing and commonly owned housing as representing the best way of ensuring an availability of affordable housing.

The Green Party | Housing


Green Party policy announcement: 500,000 social rented homes by 2020 (2015)

* Greens commit to build 500,000 social rented homes by 2020
* Funds provided by scrapping buy-to-let mortgage interest tax allowance
* More public house building needed urgently
* Everyone has the right to affordable secure housing

A lack of affordable homes is at the heart of our current housing crisis, say the Green Party who today commit to build 500,000 social rented homes by 2020.
Urgent action is required to address the housing crisis that sees 1.8million people on waiting lists for social housing (1) while ‘ghost mansions’ lie empty (2).

That just 5% of the government’s housing expenditure (3) is spent on building more homes is a disgrace say the Greens, whose housing policy is designed to serve the common good not the top 1%. 

Too many people are being priced out of expensive places like London and Brighton due to a lack of social rented homes and skyrocketing private rents. Over 30,000 social rented homes have been lost to Right to Buy since 2010, with too few replacements (4).

The Green Party will build 500,000 social rented homes by gradually increasing the social housing budget from £1.5bn pa to £6bn pa by 2017 (5). We will pay for this by reforming landlord tax allowances to incentivise good practice rather than profits, starting by scrapping buy-to-let mortgage interest relief. We will also remove the borrowing caps from local councils.

Green Party | Green Party policy announcement: 500,000 social rented homes by 2020


Green MEP calls for urgent action on housing crisis (2015)

Keith Taylor, Green Party MEP for South East England has launched a new report today on the UK housing crisis called “Everyone knows we have a housing crisis: let’s do something about it”.

The report is officially launched in Oxford this evening at the Grove Auditorium, Magdalen College from 6.30pm – 8.30pm alongside guest speakers Professor Danny Dorling and author Anna Minton. Oxford is officially the UK’s least affordable city to live in[1].

Green Party | Green MEP calls for urgent action on housing crisis
“Everyone knows we have a housing crisis: let’s do something about it”

Labour claim Brighton and Hove's Green party will 'miss election pledge’ on affordable housing (2015)

OPPOSITION councillors claim the Green administration is set to miss its 2011 election pledge for at least 1,000 new affordable homes by more than 85%.
Labour councillors claim their research shows only 147 new affordable homes will be completed in Brighton and Hove by the end of the Greens’ four-year administration, with another 140 set to be completed in the months after the election.
Housing committee chairman Bill Randall said he was “puzzled” by Labour’s claims and said 1,700 new homes, traveller pitches and empty properties brought back into use would be the administration’s legacy.
Labour claims only five housing schemes started under the current Green administration have been completed, yielding a total of 147 homes with a further five schemes for 140 homes scheduled to be completed by September next year.
The party’s research reveals a further 12 schemes launched under the previous Conservative administration led to 404 affordable homes being built since 2010.
Councillor Warren Morgan leader of the city council’s Labour group, said the administration had failed to deliver on housing promises.

Labour claim Brighton and Hove's Green party will 'miss election pledge’ on affordable housing (From The Argus)


Incredibly Awkward Interview With Natalie Bennett (2015)

Natalie Bennett was left lost for words as she tried to explain how the Green Party would pay for their new housing policy.
The interview with the Green Party leader was called "excruciating" and a "car crash" after she left long silences and stuttered when questioned by Nick Ferrari.
Ms Bennett was on LBC to launch her party's manifesto, focussing on six strands, including: "Ensuring everyone has a secure, affordable place to live."
She said she would achieve this by building 500,000 new social homes but when questioned on how she could afford this, she struggled for an answer.

Incredibly Awkward Interview With Natalie Bennett | LBC
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