Paul Kershaw, Enfield and Lea Valley Socialist Party
Andy Burnham called for the government house building programme to go 100% to council housing when campaigning during the Makerfield byelection in June. By August, the now prime minister announced that just 60% would be for social rent, and most of the social-rent housing will not be council homes. The Independent estimates that just 4% will be council housing.
The Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC) and other housing campaigners hit back at Burnham for betraying his own promises. Suzanne Muna of SHAC said: “Burnham’s backtrack proves that government is still too heavily influenced by those whose financial interests lie in maintaining things as they are despite the harm this does to people and communities.”
Similarly, Burnham argued for rent caps before becoming Prime Minister but by July Angela Rayner was ruling out rent caps as newly appointed Secretary of State for Housing.
Burnham promised to deliver “the most significant change moment in our politics for 40 years”. He said he felt “uncomfortable” that some politicians backed certain causes but then got into government and “didn’t do anything”. This talk was intended to raise hopes and some workers will think: ‘That sounds refreshing, let’s give him a chance.’
Some union leaders also encourage that view. Dave Ward of the CWU, for example, warned in a post on X that if Labour doesn’t embrace real change that “shifts the balance of forces in favour of ordinary people, it will hand Farage the keys to No 10.” It is right to link Labour’s pro-big business policies to the rise of the right, but Dave goes on to say, “We trust Andy Burnham to be that force for change, and will be firm in helping him deliver that agenda.” With his many dropped pledges over the summer, it is already clear that there is no basis to trust Burnham to make such a fundamental change.
There is no sign of Burnham changing the plans for housing that Labour prepared under Keir Stamer with financial corporations for profit-based development. While that approach remains workers will be disappointed.
Labour housing policy
Before Labour was elected, its housing and infrastructure policy was developed in close consultation with big business. The asset management industry criteria for entering ‘public–private’ housing schemes is £1 public money for £3 of private capital. They are attracted by the prospect of effectively risk-free investment and the fact that they end up owning an asset.
The recent announcement of £10 billion investment follows this approach. Much of the funding goes to ‘not for profit’ housing associations, but they will draw in private money seeking a profit. Many of the entities in the sector are anti-union employers that behave much like big business. The largest employer in the sector, Sanctuary Housing, resists the call of its workers for Unite recognition, for example. Sanctuary will get £350 million as a result of this announcement. But other ‘partners’ are straight ‘for profit’ outfits. Vistry Homes, the building company, gets £350 million and Sage Homes, a ‘for profit’ housing association backed by private equity firms Blackstone and Regis, will also get £350 million.
Housing crisis reality
The plight of people living in unhealthy housing is increasingly hitting the headlines and unaffordability is an acute issue for workers struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. Low-paid workers in London are forced to spend 57% of their income on housing and young workers aged 25 to 29 struggle to spend a massive 77% of their income.
Not only has the Burnham government rejected calls for rent control in the private sector but it has committed to above-inflation social rent increases for the next decade. Housing associations have lobbied for this on the basis that it is essential to make rented housing a more attractive investment to meet the government’s housing targets through private investment. In the end, this means social tenants paying more to boost the profits of corporations.
Social rents, such as council rents, remain relatively affordable. But even these rents are becoming too high for many. Research by the charity Crisis showed that many housing associations do tenant affordability checks on potential tenants that lead to people being denied social homes because they are deemed to be financial risks. So even people who get to the end of the waiting list are refused a home. Increasing rents for a decade can only make this worse.
If leaders of workers’ organisations go along with Labour’s big-business agenda in housing they will be complicit in increasing the danger of Farage getting the keys to Number 10. The TUC congress in September has the opportunity to map out a pro-worker approach. And this raises the question of political representation; the movement needs to take steps to build a party that speaks for workers.
Unite’s housing resolution at the TUC calls for mass council house building, rent control and opposes plans to increase social rents. That is the basis for unions to capture the imagination of workers by showing that there is a way out of housing misery.
SHAC, and other housing activists, will be at the conference calling for a union-based tenant and resident union to support the fightback. Trades councils and unions have met with tenant activists in local areas to discuss ideas for a tenants’ union.
- Paul is chair of Unite housing worker’s branch
- SHAC meeting at the TUC: Tuesday 15 September, 12:45-2pm, TUC Conference Centre, Brighton
The Socialist Party fights for:
- A mass programme of good-quality, environmentally friendly council house building
- Cut rents. Rent controls to democratically set fair rents and enforce safety standards. Councils start now with an immediate freeze on council rents and using conditions on compulsory landlord registrations
- Fund our services. Councils should reject the cuts, build the infrastructure we need and send the bill to Burnham’s government. A mass, working-class campaign can win the resources to improve our lives. Restore and extend the mental health, housing and other services destroyed by austerity
- Take the wealth off the super-rich! Nationalise the construction companies, alongside big businesses and the banks so we can use the resources of society to provide for need, not greed!
