Last week, the Plaid Cymru AM Leanne Wood berated the Welsh Conservatives for opposing legislation that would suspend the right of council tenants to buy their homes, calling such opposition ‘anti-Welsh’.
There may be a different view within the South Wales Valleys at what constitutes ‘Welshness’, but for the life of me, I cannot see what is so anti-Welsh about giving 20,000 local families across North Wales (and tens of thousands of others across the nation) their first opportunity to get onto the housing ladder within their communities.
Since they were purchased, the pride of possession has transformed many of these houses into fantastic homes which are still lived in by the former tenants who exercised their legal right to buy.
Of course, suspending the right to buy would do very little to help the housing crisis within Welsh communities. As the Daily Post reported recently, the Welsh Assembly Government is now forcing local people down the council house waiting lists in favour of outsiders. By cutting the priority points awarded to local people, Labour and Plaid Cymru are discriminating against local families who wish to live in their local communities.
Therefore, stopping council tenants from buying their own homes won’t help increase the availability of housing for local people. Indeed, it will probably make the situation worse in many areas (there is an interesting take on this from the USA here).
The real issue is ensuring that there is enough supply of housing in Wales, something which the Labour-led Assembly Governments of the last eight years have failed to do despite having billions of additional funds from the UK Treasury.
Indeed, the Assembly, through cutting the funding that goes to local authorities, has actually made the situation worse by reducing the financial ability of councils to deal with this issue at a local level.
They have also consistently ignored the inequities within the planning regulations which favour large scale developments whilst penalising any individual who wishes to build their own home locally.
It is ridiculous to think that large supermarkets have been able to get round planning laws to build their massive temples to retail across the green lands of Wales and yet when a local person puts in planning permission to build a house for their family, it is often rejected by planning inspectors within our local authorities.
As Peter Griffiths – the chief executive of the Principality Building Society – recently noted, the Labour- Plaid Cymru commitment to provide grants for first-time buyers will only stoke up demand when the issue is all about supply. Instead of this ill-conceived ‘solution’ to the housing crisis, he believes the government should be looking at how more land could be brought forward for development.
Clearly, suspending the right to buy will not help address the housing crisis in Wales and, given the current allocation system for council housing, may even make it worse within some areas.
Rather than getting on her socialist soapbox, Ms Wood should take her role as chair of the affordable housing committee more seriously.
Rather than trying to score cheap political points, she should ask her cabinet colleagues why the Labour-Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly Government refuses to change planning laws to enable local people to build their own homes and why Cardiff Bay has legislated in such a way as to discriminate against local people who wish to get onto the council house lists?
That, instead of feeble anti-Tory rhetoric, may actually start to help in dealing with the real issues within housing in Wales today.
There may be a different view within the South Wales Valleys at what constitutes ‘Welshness’, but for the life of me, I cannot see what is so anti-Welsh about giving 20,000 local families across North Wales (and tens of thousands of others across the nation) their first opportunity to get onto the housing ladder within their communities.
Since they were purchased, the pride of possession has transformed many of these houses into fantastic homes which are still lived in by the former tenants who exercised their legal right to buy.
Of course, suspending the right to buy would do very little to help the housing crisis within Welsh communities. As the Daily Post reported recently, the Welsh Assembly Government is now forcing local people down the council house waiting lists in favour of outsiders. By cutting the priority points awarded to local people, Labour and Plaid Cymru are discriminating against local families who wish to live in their local communities.
Therefore, stopping council tenants from buying their own homes won’t help increase the availability of housing for local people. Indeed, it will probably make the situation worse in many areas (there is an interesting take on this from the USA here).
The real issue is ensuring that there is enough supply of housing in Wales, something which the Labour-led Assembly Governments of the last eight years have failed to do despite having billions of additional funds from the UK Treasury.
Indeed, the Assembly, through cutting the funding that goes to local authorities, has actually made the situation worse by reducing the financial ability of councils to deal with this issue at a local level.
They have also consistently ignored the inequities within the planning regulations which favour large scale developments whilst penalising any individual who wishes to build their own home locally.
It is ridiculous to think that large supermarkets have been able to get round planning laws to build their massive temples to retail across the green lands of Wales and yet when a local person puts in planning permission to build a house for their family, it is often rejected by planning inspectors within our local authorities.
As Peter Griffiths – the chief executive of the Principality Building Society – recently noted, the Labour- Plaid Cymru commitment to provide grants for first-time buyers will only stoke up demand when the issue is all about supply. Instead of this ill-conceived ‘solution’ to the housing crisis, he believes the government should be looking at how more land could be brought forward for development.
Clearly, suspending the right to buy will not help address the housing crisis in Wales and, given the current allocation system for council housing, may even make it worse within some areas.
Rather than getting on her socialist soapbox, Ms Wood should take her role as chair of the affordable housing committee more seriously.
Rather than trying to score cheap political points, she should ask her cabinet colleagues why the Labour-Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly Government refuses to change planning laws to enable local people to build their own homes and why Cardiff Bay has legislated in such a way as to discriminate against local people who wish to get onto the council house lists?
That, instead of feeble anti-Tory rhetoric, may actually start to help in dealing with the real issues within housing in Wales today.
Comments
Why can we not build starter homes through Housing Associations that are the next step for those who want and are able to buy at realistic prices.
We are obsessed with buying houses in this country -unlike the rest of Europe and look at the trouble we are in over that.
If you are in favour of devolution you will support the draw-down of powers from Westminster even when you disagree with the way Wales chooses to use it.
I assume that if you oppose this LCO, you oppose full legislative powers for the Assembly over housing as well. If you don't oppose that, then you are a hypocrite.
Leanne's gets a pat on the back by her dwindling band of supporters for her anti-Thatcher crap whilst pissing off the tens of thousands of people who have bought their own home. Surprised she doesn't want to renationalise council houses that have already been sold.
Does the Assembly have the right to decide on how it tackles what we all agree is a major housing problem in all parts of Wales? Any devolutionist would say yes and let the elected politicians of that body get on with the job (and criticise their actions or inactions).
Any anti-devolutionist would say "no" and allow MPs and even Lords to decide on what issues the AMs are allowed to rule. That is not devolution - it's treating the democratic process in Wales with contempt.
Revealing stuff from both DJE and Glyn Davies - the so-called uber devolutionists of the Tory Party. When the chips are down, boys, you're in the Unionist Party and it shows.
Its knobs like you who nearly lost the devolution campaign in 1997 and it will be knobs like you who will lose the next campaign when you put petty party politics first
“cooperation not the free market, care not warfare and putting people before profit.” and that “the wealth of the country is in the hands of […] the workers [and] democracy means more than putting a cross in a box every four years […] In the same way as I have faith in the people of Wales to have the ability to run their own country, I’m also confident that the workers of Wales can run our industries and services”
and
"Independence means breaking the link with the monarchy, unless we really are a bunch of forelock-tugging royalists after all".
and
"Unfortunately the seeds sown by Thatcher are now blossoming - an entire generation is growing up thinking that greed is good, there is no such thing as society and the sick, elderly and infirm can go and hang. Thatcher's ideology is the norm in Middle England - it's now pervading into Wales too on the back of a New Labour party committed to perpetuating her memory".
I could go on but this really does say it all about this blogger.
I want further powers to be devolved to the Welsh people for housing and a range of other areas but only when the Welsh people decide this in a referendum.
It is not up to few nationalist activists, such as Hafod, no matter how much they believe they are speaking on behalf of ‘the people’, to decide what is best for Wales.
In fact, if he and his party truly believe that the people of Wales want further powers, then why are we buggering about with a convention? Shouldn’t we just have a vote tomorrow?
Let me make my position absolutely clear. I believe Wales was short changed in 1997 and I personally am of the opinion that we should have had a full parliament like Scotland and I will be saying as much to Wyn Roberts’ review of the matter for the Welsh Conservatives.
If the Labour Party, in its wisdom, has set up a halfway house where MPs can discuss and vote on the legislation being put forward by the Assembly, then you cannot blame MPs of any party from expressing their democratic right, as elected by the people to represent their views.
If the Labour Party had gained a majority at the last election and had then introduced a measure that Plaid did not agree with, would we have had the same response from Adam Price, Elfyn Llwyd and Hywel Williams?. I would have hoped so, as that is what they were elected to do by their constituencies.
Anon is right - devolution is a process rather than an event and it is critical that supporters of all parties are brought into the fold. If, after eight years, we have 42 per cent of the population still against further powers for the Assembly, then people will rightly question what the Labour Party have done with the devolution dividend?
Has devolution improved the economy, where we are firmly rooted to the bottom of the UK prosperity league table? Has devolution improved the health service, where waiting times remain longer than in England? Has devolution improved our communities, where the number of economically inactive individuals has hardly changed in the last eight years and the pockets of poverty are as bad as they ever were?
Remember, these policy areas have already been devolved to Wales since 1999 with billions of additional money from the Treasury and Europe.
Oh yes, we have free prescriptions and free bus passes, but we also have a crumbling NHS and a third world transport system.
Indeed, it is easy to score cheap political points when the real challenge is to ensure that devolution is working and to make coherent case for further powers, not because other nations or regions have those powers, but because they will make a real difference to Wales and the future of this nation. That is what an increasing number of us within the Welsh Conservatives are trying to do. The key to successful devolution is whether it makes a difference to people's lives not whether it fits in with a certain ideological or political view.
But it’s okay for Leanne and supporters such as Hafod, because they will convienently blame Thatcher for all the ills of Wales. Unfortunately, this mess is down to your partners in power, the Labour Party. A rainbow coalition would have changed Wales but your clear hatred of anything to do with the Conservative Party stopped that from happening. As usual, when it came down to the crunch, you put your political prejudices before the needs of the people of Wales.
On a related point, and this has begun to piss me off recently. I understand the position of many anonymous bloggers but if I am prepared to put my head above the bloody parapet, then so should Plaid activists such as Hafod.
Instead he/she refuses to post a profile and hides behind a pseudonym. If Hafod wants a proper discussion, then why doesn’t he/she come out from behind their anonymity and set up their own blog under their own name, rather than posting pointless posts dripping with sarcasm but offering no real contribution to the devolution debate.
And of course I am a unionist, but so are nearly all the members of Plaid Cymru! It’s just that I am more comfortable as having a full parliament for Wales within the UK rather than as for Wales to be an independent country within the European Union, which is Plaid’s ultimate aim. European unionist or British unionist – what is the difference?
People like Hafod are unimportant as they represent no-one but themselves and their narrow views.
I believe you are the only person in Wales with both a column in both the Daily Post and the Western Mail. It is the tens of thousands who read your work every week who count, not the few who read Hafod' comments on the web.
No wonder they are trying to put you down. Keep fighting.
To the last anon - yes, my views are unimportant but I have a right to express them.