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From The Socialist newspaper, 13 June 2018
Pay rises of 283% needed for most to afford London homes
Mass council house building programme needed now
Houses, photo Chmee2/CC (Click to enlarge)
Emily, East London Socialist Party
As a worker in London who earns just under half the average London wage, I would need a payrise to £134,000 a year in order to afford a mortgage in the city. In other words, 283% more than the average London salary of £35,610, or over 400% more than what I and many others earn.
In 26 of 33 boroughs, more than £100,000 is needed to buy a home with an 80% mortgage according to a National Housing Federation report. Even in the seven 'cheaper' boroughs like Newham and Redbridge, a wage of between £87,000 and £98,000 is needed to buy a home. This is far beyond what most working class and young people earn, showing that the prospect of owning a home in London - where the average price of a home is £585,000 - is unattainable.
But everywhere, not just in London, housing and home ownership for working class and young people is getting harder and harder to achieve. Due to low wages, insecure contracts, decreasing council housing and astronomical property prices, most are forced to rent privately - normally at rip-off rents - or stay living at home.
Even 'affordable' housing schemes such as shared ownership, which enables you to purchase a percentage of a property instead of buying outright, incur huge solicitors and agent fees, as well as monthly rent, mortgage and service charge payments, so the cost of even owning a share of a property is beyond what most can afford.
The report also points out the shortage of housing in London. Between 2012 and 2016 there were of 177,590 fewer homes than needed. The shortage of affordable housing has become desperate with the homelessness crisis and the increased use of food banks by working class families.
We need higher wages in the short term so we can afford rents and mortgages, but businesses are not going to give us all pay rises of 283% or more. We need a massive council house building programme so that we have affordable, secure homes for all without having to earn six-figure sums.
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In The Socialist 13 June 2018:
Grenfell Tower
Grenfell: still waiting for justice
PCS union
Civil service pay strike ballot: vote yes! Smash the cap!
PCS members in DWP say: Pay up now!
Fighting sexism
How can we fight for trade unions that fight for women?
Socialist Party news and analysis
Five reasons to walk out on 13 July
City vultures make millions from Carillion chaos
Retail crunch: more giants on their knees - nationalise them now
Pay rises of 283% needed for most to afford London homes
Workplace news and analysis
Health unions accept divisive NHS pay deal
NHS workers plan coordinated strikes across West Yorks against outsourcing
4,000 Rolls-Royce jobs at risk
Transport for London to lose central grant: bus workers must prep for action
Housing strike against individualised pay enters week two
Vote Mike Rolfe for Napo general secretary
International socialist news and analysis
Venezuela: Neither the capitalists nor regime can solve the crisis
Eyewitness report from Gaza: "Razan was killed in front of my eyes"
Socialist Party campaigns
Build an anti-racist workers' movement
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Sheffield Labour council "happy" to jail trees protesters
In the words of Amber Rudd, "no one died at Orgreave"
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2018