The Welsh dream: That the people of Wales should own their own homes
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A very inspirational speech Neil. Thoroughly enjoyable.
‘If the carrot approach fails, the stick of compulsory purchase could be used.’ No, interfering too much in the private sector infringes upon individual civil liberties, and it is wrong. A couple of the above steps to tack homelessness, yes. But one must remember the words of George Osbourne which are perhaps the words which won the 2010 election: ‘We want to get you out of tax, and into your own home.’ Yes, we must take steps to solving Cardiff’s, and Wales’, homelessness issue. But owning a home is not a right, it is something you earn. That is what… Read more »
Coming on here spouting quotes from George Osborne is a bit rich ! He may have said a lot of agreeable things but his actions spoke much louder. He looked after his rich friends ahead of all else. Fine giving us plebs higher annual allowances on ISA’s, some people didn’t even earn enough to make a minimum investment let alone max out on these allowances, and improving tax bands was a positive gesture but his unwillingness to make the seriously wealthy, high income element in society carry a bigger share of the burden of austerity undermines any integrity the man… Read more »
I can fully respect your disagreement; exempli gratia, I disagree with the bedroom tax. But your first sentence quite bewilders me. ‘Coming on here spouting quotes from George Osborne is a bit rich !’ Surely we want a Cymru which is political mature enough to sustain national newspapers in which the left and right are expressed in equal measure without a bias towards either socialism nor capitalism? So for you to explicit refer to expressing pro-capital opinions ‘here’ as being a ‘a bit rich’ is a subtle attempt to stifle any emergence of a pro-Wales-focused sphere in which economically liberal… Read more »
Wrong again ! I spent my entire working life in business, the last 20+ years self employed serving various manufacturing businesses. I know from that experience that there is a gulf between ” competitive free enterprise” and the large scale corporate organisations that Osborne and his ilk favour. Those guys have been bending and twisting rule books all their bloody lives setting out to ensure anti-competitive obstacles get enshrined in laws, regulations, procurement procedures etc etc. If that’s your chosen form of capitalism then yes I am opposed to your “economic liberalism” but really you should be a touch more… Read more »
140,000 homes have been sold in Wales due to right to buy
I wonder why, in a week when Mr McEvoy has asked for the Plaid Cymru whip to be restored to him, he has reiterated his ideas regarding right-to-buy. Wasn’t his voicing of this opinion the “straw that broke the camel’s back” which led to his suspension from the Plaid group? Furthermore, if restrictions are placed on the resale of properties bought under right-to-buy then surely their desirability – and sale price – will be severely reduced. Which, I guess would lead to the council buying them back at which point one has to ask “what was the point in the… Read more »
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a real open discussion about all of this – using really accurate data and information. A statement of some simple facts would be nice as well. How many people own homes, how many rent – rate of evictions. How many are in Council accomodation, how many have signed up to right to buy, how many have defaulted. Social housing – the names of the providers, the people involved and how they operate and lots of relevent stats and informatiuon about them – demographics everything (everything out in the open for everyone to see). There… Read more »
“if restrictions are placed on the resale of properties bought under right-to-buy then surely their desirability – and sale price – will be severely reduced.” (The caveat for what follows is that replacement council houses are built from the proceeds of the initial sale) If a council house tenant wants a home and to obtain security for their family they might think restrictions are acceptable. The alternative is as you pointed out is possible future loss of security. If a council house tenant wants a home, security for their family and an investment in property then they might wish to… Read more »
Your rather labyrinthine reply takes some understanding! Given that the discount is a maximum of £8000 why would anyone buy a home that would have stringent conditions regarding its resale or letting out? Its value would be greatly diminished. It would be a bad investment. Ghettos of unsaleable and unlettable homes would then develop which, under McEvoy’s harebrained plan the council would then buy back at a greatly diminished price, creating assets worth less than they were when initially sold under right-to-buy. Dealing with the issue of building homes with the proceeds of right-to-buy I will use Tremorfa as an… Read more »
Sorry my comment made you feel like you were struggling in a maze. I’ll try to put my points across more clearly. The issue for me here is housing in Cymru and the sale of council houses. Whether Mr McEvoy has or hasn’t got the Plaid whip is irrelevant to me. Firstly the detail of discounts and restrictions are not fixed for eternity. Either the Senedd can tailor them to address needs and circumstances or it can insist that it gets the powers off Westminster to do so. If Westminster refuses to issue them then that is yet another reason… Read more »
Neil is right we need to talk housing policy. Let’s have some horror expressed at councils like Cardiff failing to meet their affordable housing targets. Let’s stop councils letting developers avoid providing their 30 or 40% of affordable housing. In wealthy Penarth a controversial development of 30 luxury flats should include 12 affordable homes but the VoG council propose to take just £300k in lieu (106 agreement) how many homes would that provide? They prefer the income for spending. Until this massive loophole is plugged few affordable homes will be built in Wales. This is the real scandal. At the… Read more »
When an existing council tenant buys their council property, the council should purchase a similar sized property or build a new property to replace the housing stock for those on the waiting list. I understand that new house building is exempt from VAT, so should residential property repairs also be removed from VAT. Council tax is not an effective way of raising revenue as it does not take different levels of income (from different sources) into account. The councils have no room to raise extra revenue as raising this tax falls heaviest on those with the lowest income. I have… Read more »
I talk about the right to a home, not a right to own a home. Nobody has ever told me the problem with selling a council property, as long as the stock is replaced. I really would like to know what is wrong with that.
Neil, much of the adverse response to your comments comes from people who haven’t fully grasped ( or even read through ) what you are talking about. There’s a cluster of bad buggers out there who will argue black is white rather than engage in a sane discussion of this or indeed any other problem. Some of these people are wedded to a political party no matter what kind of drivel it spouts, or how inactive it is in government despite engaging in some big talk. Others have got it in for you on a more personal level but choose… Read more »
So are you talking about the right to buy and suggesting there should be no right to buy a council property, but it should be fine to sell one? I was almost on your side here to some extent, but now I’m confused by the message.
I see nothing wrong with selling council homes, after say, a set period of 10 years or such. As for replacing them, I am what you might call a Green conservative and am more cautious as i think about Civil Liberties in relation to government interference. There are ways to strike a middle road but must balance indivilualism too.
Re: confusion. I was referring to the constitution. The right should be to a home. It is up to the individual & circumstances what suits. E.g. Ownership/rent. The rest stands as clear I would hope. Thanks
This chap actually talks some sense, and isn’t afraid to point out the massive hypocrisy of Welsh Labour. No wonder Plaid Cymru couldn’t cope with him.
I meet up with this young man Neil McEvoy some years ago & I said to him then & to other’s who surrounded him that he has a right to speak on the injustice on that which he lives within & understands in Wales today in 2002 ! Poverty has few friends or allies to expose the reality of such evil .No matter the promises & demands of politicians in Welsh Assembly today. Fact- One in every 3 Welsh citizens survive in poverty.today is that OK ? Not for Neil.! I understand that Neil is considered to be a loose… Read more »
Housing provision gets mired in left v right ideological debates. Practical solutions are needed and Mr McEvoy suggests some here (see also Rhisiart ap Siencyn, Nation Cymru Opinion 25.9.17).
The factors influencing property and land prices and new provision of homes are complex indeed and well intentioned interventions may lead to unintended consequences. Independent academic study of the housing provision problem in Wales which doesn’t carry ideological baggage would be helpful.
Just a reply to PUN. Personal insults don’t belong in this forum. Thanks.
So what is the reason for you submitting this piece just three days after you requested that the Plaid whip be restored to you? Or will we have to wait for your next press conference to find out? On your latest video you identify yourself as “Independent Plaid”. What does that mean? You’ve been Labour, Plaid Cymru, Cardiff Plaid, Independent and now Independent Plaid. What next? Your right-to-buy zealotry could mean that the Tories would be a natural home for you. But would they want you? You could join your old mate Sarul Islam in UKIP – they favour hanging… Read more »
PUN, I have the courage to use my name: you don’t. I can guess who you are though.
You are a public figure, picking up two salaries from the public purse. You have “written” this laughably harebrained article and put your name to it. No courage required there. So how about answering the questions which I asked?
He left the “K” off the end of his moniker !
And an S at the start
I support the ending of the right to by social housing, however I would greatly welcome local authorities building and selling properties at affordable rates and issuing mortgages as they once did. Neil is right, there is no problem with selling council owned properties as long as they are replenished by new council properties, the problem is with the discounts, councils are unable to do so, its a case of diminishing returns. Income from mortgages could be an important revenue stream for local authorities that would support their housebuilding and other activities.