Overcrowding, poor quality, unaffordable
Laurence Dunn, Surrey Socialist Party
Like everywhere, the economic squeeze of the working class is clear to see in Guildford and the surrounding areas. Contrary to popular belief it’s an area rife with poverty, especially on the outskirts of the town – anywhere the rich live, those of us who make them rich live in crowded, expensive and poor accommodation. Workers spend well over half their wages on necessities.
Homelessness is everywhere; every road in the town centre has people sleeping on mattresses and sitting on street corners begging. Desperation exists side by side with the affluence Surrey is known for.
Previously secure jobs have been replaced with zero-hour contracts and agency work. Young people who grew up in the area see no option but to move away rather than live in overpriced and cramped house shares.
In the south east, 32% of wages go on rent alone. Working-class people struggle to make ends meet, transferring ever increasing sums into our landlords’ bank accounts. The Socialist Party fights for rent controls, with rents capped at a democratically decided level, and with housing quality standards set and enforced.
In the 1970s, 42% of British people lived in council homes. Then, people spent roughly 10% of their income on housing. Today just 17% live in council homes. Hundreds of thousands spend years on waiting lists. Millions can’t even get accepted onto the list.
Thatcher and subsequent governments led by Labour and Tories have promoted homes as commodities, something to be hoarded, traded and speculated on.
We need to bring empty homes into council stock, build new environmentally sustainable council homes, and take housing out of the hands of the big landlords.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, with his eye on Number 10, is pandering to the bosses. By calling for a “DNA change” of the Labour Party he is making it clear a government led by him will act in the interests of the bosses and landlords. Jeremy Corbyn’s 2019 election promises to build 100,000 council homes and introduce rent controls no longer stand.
We need a new workers’ party that represents the true interests of the working class, and will fight for democratic public ownership and a new generation of high-quality council homes.
