City Villages – the wrong solution to London’s housing crisis

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

I wonder if Andrew Adonis has been taking lessons of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Leese, Labour leader of Manchester City Council? Hundreds of council homes, most only built in the 1970, some only having been refurbished. To be replaced mostly by ‘homes-to-buy’, for the educated, young professionals. We now have over 5,000 empty dwellings, with over 2,600 being long-term empty (http://www.emptyhomes.com/ 2013). With a very large housing waiting list, in 2012, more than 16,000. What is it about our politicians and their supporters, both Labour and Conservative, that there is an urgent requirement for council homes at affordable rents?

Red Brick

Last week on Red Brick we discussed a series of essays edited by Lord Andrew Adonis for the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) proposing the transformation through redevelopment of existing council estates into ‘City Villages’.

Duncan Bowie has written the following analysis and detailed critique of the report. Duncan writes in a personal capacity but is convenor of the Highbury Group on Housing Delivery – an independent group of specialists from public, private and independent sectors from housing, planning and related professions which prepares proposals for Government – as well as being a member of the EC of London Labour Housing Group. He has worked in London housing and planning for many years, including for Ken Livingstone when he was Mayor.

The wrong solution to London’s housing crisis

By Duncan Bowie

Andrew Adonis’s introductory chapter seeks to describe the housing crisis in London and propose that the shortage…

View original post 2,009 more words

The sheer bloody lunacy of RTB and welfare reform (sic) – They cost the taxpayer MORE

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

The UK is becoming another Edwardian Britain, as depicted in Robert Tressell’s The_Ragged-Trousered_Philanthropists.  Unfortunately, Labour are just as much to blame, as they never overturned Conservative policies concerning council housing, during their 13 years in Government.  In fact, Labour controlled councils, like Manchester City Council, were happy to rid themselves of council housing.  They demolished hundreds, just so, ‘homes-to-buy’ could be built, resulting in many being put up for private rent.  We have over 5,000 empty dwellings in Manchester, with a long waiting list for social housing.

The sheer bloody lunacy of RTB and welfare reform (sic) – They cost the taxpayer MORE.

Professor Wessely: Knocking the Docs & Overstepping the Mark

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

Vested interests who are trying to influence our benefit system!

downwithallthat

I feel that my last post ended on a somewhat cryptic note  regarding Professor Wessely, and that I need to support the claim I made about the  undermining of physical medical authority within his ‘doctrine’. This I feel I have previously done to an certain degree with regard to Professor Aylward and his colleagues (here and here), though the potential certainly exists for more to be highlighted.

An insight into what could be termed the ‘under-the-radar‘ approach to undermining the integrity of medical personnel, such as GPs, is provided by Professor Wessely’s article for Unum’s Annual Chief Medical Officer’s Report 2007 entitled “Why and When do Doctors Collude With Patients?” (The CMO for this publication was Michael O’Donnell, now occupying the same role with Atos Healthcare.)

Subtle But Significant

This notion may seem to be introduced with apparent goodwill, even humour, but the important fact…

View original post 1,101 more words