Evictions Mount

There were 10,475 repossessions of rented homes in the first quarter of the year - the highest in five years. 

This is out of 47,220 applications to courts, of which 31,000 were by social landlords and 6,500 by private landlords.

And a further 200,000 revenge evictions against tenants who had complained of work needing to be done to make their homes fit for occupation, says Shelter.

There are 1,700,000 people on Housing Waiting Lists in Britain.  These aren't scroungers, but mainly ordinary working people who simply can't afford to buy or rent as home.   And all the Government is doing is encouraging developers to create more luxury flats or build expensive new houses for sale - putting more people into mortgage debt.  Meanwhile the banks are borrowing money from their customers or from the Government at 0.1 per cent and re-lending it at up to 7 per cent. They say they're getting Britain's debt down, but they're conspiring to get total mortgage debt up to over 1.2 trillion - which they say helps boost the economy.

 All victims of a Government reneging on its responsibility to house its people. 

Government mistakes

The Government says it is getting Britain's debt down.  But with Help To Buy it is actually encouraging the creation of more debt.  More vulnerable mortgagors to add to the country's 1.2trillion of mortgage debt already.  It only makes profit for their money-lender friends.

22% more first-time buyers.  24% of homeowners facing repayment problems, even before interest rates rise,  Government thinks as long as it's selling something, the economy's sll right.   But its selling boom can rapidly turn to bust.

Call to Action

Bristol, Europe’s 2015 Green Capital, is crowd-funding housing.  Permanently-affordable homes on secure long-term tenancies, owned on behalf of the community so they can’t be sold off on the speculative market.  Shares offer good interest: invest now.  AEOBhousepeople.org.uk

What the Government is doing

All Government action on housing is directed at selling homes.  Even the adjustment to planning regulations to allow conversion of derelict office blocks simply lets big developers convert them into flats to sell.  This makes money for developers and for money-lenders, but does not solve the problem of lack of affordable homes.  And it is expanding debt, creating more of the sub-prime mortgages that precipitated the last economic collapse and meant banks had to have a billion-pound bailout from the taxpayer.  People taking the Government’s Help To Buy are mortgaging themselves to the limit of their income; and when interest rates go up, as they are bound to do, they will find themselves unable to cope, being repossessed and losing everything they have.

Britain’s total mortgage debt is now over £1.2 trillion – three-quarters of total GDP – and BORROWING TO BUY Is NOT reducing our national debt.  The only way to tackle the housing crisis is for local communities to raise their own money to buy in empty sites and empty buildings, convert them and own them to keep them permanently affordable, says the Abandon Empty Office Buildings campaign.  “We have already raised £150,000 in investments in our Community Share and this is a way for homes to be owned on behalf of the community, and keep banks, with their dangerous tricks, out of the equation,” says Tony Crofts, one of AEOB’s founders.  “We need to go on building this fund to enable us to buy and rescue buildings that are capable of producing good, secure, long-term tenancies for families.”

“Stonesfield Community Trust, in Oxfordshire, has only had two rent rises in twenty years, and is now letting at below-council rents.  It has paid all its debts and its still looking towards a £200,000 surplus to put into further social benefit for its village.  This has proved it is possible for a voluntary non-profit organisation to make affordable rents wash their own face.  We want to achieve the same for Bristol.  We aim to work with Bristol Energy Co-op, which is aiming to make Bristol self-supporting for energy generation by spreading photo-voltaic panels over an increasing number of houses.  Localising the economy is the answer to reducing the economic power of the big bullies.”  Go to AEOBhousepeople.org.uk or Tel. 0117 9265931 to learn how to make an interest-bearing investment of £50 to £20,000 for Bristol’s future.

riotjam

When you create a society that has no sense about it at all, you can't be surprised if people behave in destructive, irrational ways.  And if you set an example of unrestrained greed and freedom to behave vilely, you can't be surprised if people follow it.

David Cameron was involved in a shop window-breaking incident in Oxford when a member of the Bullingdon Club.  "Just youthful high spirits", of course.  He didn't spend any days in prison.  And bankers and company directors grab millions in pay and pension rights "to keep the best people at the top".

"What "utterly unacceptable,. criminal behaviour" actually means is "tug you forelocks and respect our property while we exploit society entirely to our advantage".   The government's own research has found that 64% of rioters came from the most deprived neighbourhoods, 42% were entitled to free school meals, 35% were on benefits, and two-thirds had special educational needs.

Forever debt

When businesses borrow to start producing, when they do so they have to charge a price for their products that covers the interest on their borrowings.  This means they are charging more for their stuff than they are paying out to their workers.  So there is always a perpetual shortage of buying power.  So consumers also have to borrow in order to purchase what they need.  This creates a continually-growing pool of debt, which makes it necessary for the economy to keep growing more and more which produces pollution and exhaustion of materials.  It also guarantees that some industries will have to go bankrupt as the demands for their products falls.  So we are condemned, by the continual creation of debt, to work longer and longer hours, have less and less time for our families, and endanger the planet's environment.

We need a different system, where the increasing productiveness of modern industry enables us to work LESS hours and use things up less fervidly.