Single Aspect Blog

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Transcript

There are no comparable figures for the housing situation in 66 to now but all the indications are that it’s much much worse.

There are 93,000 children categorised as homeless and you think of their life chances, how they’re diminished by having nowhere to call home and as someone has just said, having a home is the prerequisite for building a decent life.

In one way the fact they’ve got worse is not a surprise because the shift in consciousness was with the Thatcher government that says the market will provide, well the market has not provided and will never provide.

It’ll provide big profits for the big building companies, it gives us the grotesque prices in West London, the poor families being moved out and moving to areas in the country where it’s cheaper so that they lose all their family infrastructure.

If you rely on the market it cannot plan.

Q: So what would you propose in terms of a house building plan, how would you do it?

I think we have to go back to Nye Bevan’s plan which was directly employed labour and planners and architects either through local authorities, he empowered local authorities to build houses and sustainable communities.

Q: It seems telling that there’s kind of quite a lot of different political thinkers that are interested in the housing crisis as this event shows.

I think the parties are quite cynical about this, they see this as a big event, it’s on their doorstep, of course they’ve got to be here.
But they’ve got nothing new to say. For most of them it’s business as usual.

I think Caroline Lucas is, yes, definitely the best of the bunch and Labour are slightly better than the Tories but by and large it’s business as ususal.

I think the Greens have the best policies apart from the Socialist left. I think they’re still a social democrat party so they will still be hooked on the idea of the boss making a profit before they can solve anything so I don’t think they’re adequate but I think they’re the best of the bunch.

Q: I must ask you have you ever shared a platform with Nigel Farage before?

I didn’t share a platform, he was well gone, I’m pleased to say.