But the facts show this claim is a lie.
In Britain today over three million families live in homes that are rotting or overerowded And new slims are being created faster than oid ones are repaired or replaced. maures snow tnat in engana anc Wales alone over 900,000 houses and for people to live in — that means the A further milion bomes are tacking a bath, an inside WC or hot water and are officially fil bur still need over figures don't include shoddy council shoddy work by contractors, suffer building conditions so bad that tenants refuse Meanwhile over a million familics in Ensland and Wales alone are wantibe for council bousing. Ar many are sharing accomodation, ollen against their wishes, because of the housing shortage. In 1976 the official figure for those totally homeless was double the 1971 figure — and four times the 1976 total.
EMPTY At the same time there are a million homes kept completely empty. These properties deliberately kept empty by speculators and snulous waie tor a high enough rent or sale price -thoush it is true that a number would be empty al any time just through people moving Faced with this crisis, the Labour Government is actively working International Monetary Fund.
In the five years ending April 1979, the Government will have made an incredible 40 per amount spent on building new houses and buying and repairing old ones And bousing's share in spending will have fallen from 10, per cent in 1974-5 go 8.6 per cent of a biezer total in 1978-9.
How can this be so when politicians of all parties tell as thai the total amount spent on housing is rising too fast and must be cut off? Because less and less of what gets spent under the heading of housing actually goes into providing or repairing bomes more and more of il goes into paving: interest charges to City linanciers.
In 1968-9, 74 per cent of all money spent on housing weil on building and improving homes. This year the total has Tallen to only 38 per cent. The rest goes out repaying debts and paying interest. Labour nothing lo stop the financiers taking Left ІНН ІАПАГиШ carlur rlicks, помв, вкрововв, апо зн SOCIALIST CHALLENGE 13 April 1978 page 10 Government instead. they pet in rents.
and Ciry.
SLASHED cut in the all pubb April 1975, falling slums. In Istingion, -and Liverpool there backlog of 50,000 council will do repairs themselves.
PENTRAL LONDON Anti Nazi Leagu Landoniwct Wilson, a freelance joumallet who han ten a book on Asian women to b ablished inter this year, will 0a0ah 247/9 Penton 5E. SIT. Prone I1-540 89021730) LE MIDLANDS Used Troopa O ummerinarly Autumn, For such a antaronca to De a succeso il neod the active supporters and sympanet grou their ever-growing slice. So curs in the spending on 'real" housing are made Every new house buslt in England and Wales in 1975-6 cost £1642 in interest chime In lat ycat sone The total amount paid in interest to financiers on money borrowed for housing rose from E570m a year in the mid 60% to nearly E1500M a year in the mid-'70%, Each year two-thirds of all money spent by local councils on housing goes in interest on borrowed arcas:
Over one hundred councils in the country pay out more in interest than NewCasne, loI instance, paid £16.3m last year, as against E9, 4m in rent incorne. Despite all the talk ahout 'subsidised tenants' the truth is that council tenants arc subsidising the loan sharks in the And these subsidies are nor being cut. Far from it; in the two years from walle real wares were average council rents rose by 40 per cent. And the Coverament says they must rise by another 50 per cent in the next five Meanwbile spending on repair is falling because of the cuts, and more and more council estates rot away into for example. estates are now repainted only every 14 years instead of every cight.
an estimated homics needing repairs. Meanwhile jobs are Jost in council maintenance departments and tenants must pay for more Money for councils to acquire old Sparlaciet League Bubie Mitisnea. Thenione come along te, Films, (Attica OCIALIST UNITY Benelit with Th a Bush Groen. da UTOM Apell, Epm. B0p (claimbers 40p by STEPHEN BLUM been slasied by 45 per cent this year So has spending on grants to private orners to repair their homes number of such grants fell by 64 pe cent between 1973 and 1976. and th number of council mortgages fell last year to a quarter of what it had been the year before. This leaves workers wishing to buy older houses at Live mercy of the building societies, who discriminate against applicants The net result was described last year by Sheller: The number of houses decline uno untoess or major disrepair cach year is now equal of houses improved and slums demolished, Meanwhile the building union LICATT estimates that 300,000 building workers are unemplayed. In areas of high anemployment like Tyne and Wear, 21 per cent of all unempioyed males building H300 men. And this in aD area with some of the worst bousing in GHETTO Labour Government policy, comed by the Tories, is to make these problems worse by continuing to cut building putting emphasis on building for sale. This means that the available housing will be allocated by sour ability to pav, insread of by how much you need it.
way owner-occupiers an URSA CATTURN DON TEUEE BOLA that the more you can afford to spend on a house, the more subsidy you gel Meanwhulethose who can't afford to buy their owa homes will be stuck Hosteiscr FOUR SOCIALISTS BENEFIT TIRAI FIO Poll Eustin Adl, London Bush Hot ПF.1H5. 42320040 homes in order to repair them has | in the council sector, which will end up as a ghetto for the poor, this helping the working class Of to own their own homes if offered a choice. successive Government policies mean TIENTROMATE MACISISCOSME partly because control over their homes But instead of bringing in tenant control, and building estates with proper facilities instead of cheap-jack being workers welDariective son colo resorsal sequence A truly inting. Tre Dihor Cinema . London WC2H SEAS minism se the meshienary party th Hospital EGA music and theatre 2031200 N. Gower S1.
WC1 Lose the bad surveyors builders, financiers rescarch project STRUGGLE "deserving couse, il the fact a tent, because owners have more Instead it discuss lh 'olticial form.
NUPE policy.
and How FESTIVAL AGAINST RACISM Bisck Sauda Asil 15 2pm bel Digasised by Maringey Labou Camminay Rotaliens Counci ither cinema DESPITE having to close our Lendon plesand 1o ba sule lu Assemble Spacker Corner 12.00 far March to Rally, Trufalgar Square 3.00 namse wluch council huresocracy has grea to public rented bousing, as an excuse expand the private sector. *o the grealer profit of the loao sharks, huilding societies. Jand speculators and protessionals.
-Tse veers 1971-5, owner-occupiers spent [1.257 milion int Ices to estate agens, solicitors.
and other parasiles whenever they bought orsold a house. That money could have buili 156,260 So if present policies concinue the plięht of the homeless and il-housed wil ony worsen Waiting lists will gros; what new council housing there is will be of poorer quality; rents will rise; and slums will roc unicleared. The lo benefit will be the land speculators and Clearly Is chreat so the livine Mandards of all working poople must be laken up by the labour movement Betthe only action to date ar the level of cational policy has come from ine public employees union NUPE. It has published a pamphiel, joincy with Ine SCAT, called Ep against a Brick Wall, most of the facts in this anticle an caken. It is a valunhie source ammunition on the borsing question Tor every socialist and trade antonist.
But the pamphler fails to draw rbe obuious socialist conclusion -the so-called bousine probiem" is in interest UTILI profil problem, to which the only solution is totake the land financi institution. and building industry out of the hands OTTE DIRI-MANES calls for an expanded council building programme and the restoration of the cuts. le also calls for the TUC to cal a one-day national conference of affiliated uniona to Government's policy statement: harmless cnough, but not exactly a call to set the blood tingling The issues raised by renant and community groups must be laken up by trade unionists al branch and workplace level, and the scruggle to improve and democratise housin should be supported by the strength o organised labour. Trades could play a co-ordinating role here Where they are too letargic to act utions whose members are involved directly in the housing field can take a lead, as can the anti-cuts campaigns.
Some of these poinrs are hinled at NUPE pamphlet, at least in a milder, more and ine apparenti So is the idea that trades councils together willt lenant consuly groups should monitor thele lozal council's housing avestiment programme. couraccient will come from NUPE much pressure and headquarters to help branches tuzn chese ideas inco action is, of counse another question. But rank and file can and must raise the question themselves. to point out a was that the labour movement can take up che bousing question SCUTOCO friends and il - 1l 50, Landoh NI ZXP. Checces payablo
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The Labour Government is keeping workers homeless or in slums, in order to boost the moneylenders" profits. Last year a Government "Green Paper" proudly boasted that the housing shortage was over.
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