Should the Labour party be re-elected at the next general election, its members would like to see affordable housing a priority in the political agenda. A recent poll, commissioned by Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham, found that 54 per cent of members thought affordable housing should be the party’s top priority.
The next most popular areas to be mentioned were education, 49 per cent and pensions provisions, 35 per cent. Changes to Stamp Duty and Inheritance Tax did not feature in the survey. The Conservatives also revealed that they would be focusing on social issues in its election campaign.
Our view
Property and housing will always feature high on the agenda. Our view is that we are heading back to the sixties with potential mass production of cheap ‘modern’ housing. These ultimately were built on estates of small property and tower blocks, which for some have now turned into so called ‘ghettos’. Care is needed on the design of affordable housing. There should also be no development of huge, affordable housing estates.