Loss of lifetime tenure – Karen Buck
December 16th, 2015
Five years ago I attended Progressive London 2010 at which Karen Buck was speaking, among others. She identified then the problems that will come to pass with the Governments recent attack on tenure.
Karen Buck was superb with a long talk about the possible loss of secure tenure of council tenants should a Conservative Government be elected and implement the plans outlined by Localis in Principles their now infamous document on Tory proposals for council housing.
She drew a parallel with the experiences of black migrants from the American South coming to Chicago in the 1940s and becoming the victims of slum landlords while suffering the indignities of being “frequent movers”, people unable to take their place in society for want of a stable home address. [The Promised Land – Nicholas Lemann] Karen put forward the view that in the absence of secure tenure and having only an AST with two months to quit, council tenants would become a transient population, unlikely to be registered with a GP, their children changing schools, unlikely to be on the electoral register and to vote. She pointed out that Conservative think council tenants are second class citizens.
Karen Buck is always worth listening to about housing.
Council tenants lose lifetime right to live in property – The Guardian