“ So far, so good - but it looks like Mayor Khan is already preparing the ground to pass the buck to the Secretary of State. If we are not careful, we are likely to end up with a compromise scheme that is half way between this particular Aunt Sally and the earlier proposal. So we must stay vigilant.
The real problem is that we are too often too willing to accept the cheapest standards of housing (especially for others) in order to compensate for high land prices. Meanwhile, the building companies are hoarding the land, scamming the rest of us (think, the leasehold scandal),skimping on quality and making a killing. All supported by government policies that imagine increasing peoples' ability to buy housing (selling council housing at vast discounts, the "help to buy" schemes, the notion of "affordable" housing, stamp duty breaks, etc) will somehow increase the supply of rather than the price of housing.
Too big a subject for now, I suppose. But I've got it off my chest! ”