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Brown should up his interest rate in local authority mortgages
GORDON Brown’s dream of building three million homes within the next few years has been exposed for being exactly that – a dream or a fantasy!
The fact that he imagined private developers would put up most of these homes is further proof that Brown has an uncontrollable imagination.
At Prime Minister’s Question time yesterday (Wednesday) the Lib-Dem deputy leader Vince Cable, who is the best and most-experienced economist in the Commons, announced that “housing starts” this year have been the lowest since the Labour government of 1924!
He also warned that several major housing associations are at the point of going to the wall.
His warning came in the same week that the Local Government Association (LGA) flew the kite that local authorities should go into the “lending business”.
At present, mortgages are difficult to obtain. Banks are reluctant to lend – to small businesses or individuals.
The LGA are promoting an idea whose time has arrived.
Local authorities, such as the Greater London Council as well as Camden Council, successfully provided mortgages in the past, abandoning the idea in the 1990s. Why cannot Camden do the same now?
This wouldn’t necessarily please Gordon Brown or Alistair Darling, who will not bring themselves to believe that public can be better than private. Hence, the latest moves by the unelected Lord Mandelson to privatise the Royal Mail – yet another disaster in the making!
Nonetheless, Camden Council are quite capable of becoming the equivalent of a building society.
The present ruling coalition may not have enough self-belief to embrace this idea. But, in our opinion, council officials would be able to handle it.
Inevitably, perhaps, mistakes will be made. Complaints will appear in the local press.
But all of this is small fry compared to the good that can come out of the reintroduction of what was once a successful policy.
Something has to break the logjam.
The housing market is in the doldrums partly because home-seekers are playing a wait-and-see game on prices in a falling market – and partly because it is very difficult to obtain a mortgage in the first place.
Here is a golden opportunity for Camden Council to ride to the rescue.
The LGA is calling on local authorities to be given the power by the government to lend at a competitive rate.
Now, over to Gordon Brown. He should forget his pipe dream, and recognise that, in this instance, at least, public is far superior to private! |
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