London: Mayor & More

At The Guardian: On Housing Policy

This went live yesterday, attracting a deluge of comments - a deluge of two, last time I looked. As I observe below, housing's not very sexy, is it? Still, hope you find what follows informative.

London has housing problems. Where to start? In a city of seven and a half million around 330,000 households are on waiting lists for social housing and around 60,000 in temporary accommodation. Every year 3,000 still sleep rough. Meanwhile the housing market, enduring index of British insanity, excludes all but the best off. Thousands of otherwise self-sufficient young adults still live with their parents because they can't afford to do anything else. The combined effects of population turnover, City fortunes and incoming labour ingrain chronic inequality. In London, the rich get richer while the poor wait in line and Polish workers have kipped in public toilets in Stamford Hill. At the same time, 85,000 London dwellings stand empty. What's a mayoral candidate to do?

Getting A Handle On Housing

So I'm, knackered again and trying to catch up with all the stuff I've managed to miss so far this week, such as Tuesday's housing and homelessness hustings. Livingstone, Johnson and Paddick all committed themselves to ending rough sleeping in the capital, a move welcomed by Leslie Morphy of Crisis. But he goes on:

"Ken Livingstone made clear his housing priority lay in tackling the chronic shortfall in social rented housing, Brian Paddick in more affordable rented accommodation for all, and Boris Johnson talked more about his plans to help 'people in the middle' get on the housing ladder. I felt that none of the candidates convincingly showed that they understood the extent to which providing housing is only a small part of the solution to homelessness."

This summarises certain differences of emphasis. What would these and others mean in practice? First, let's get a handle on our problem. There are 334,000 London households on waiting lists for social housing of some kind - a fair slice out of a population of seven and a half million. There are 57,000 households in temporary accommodation. There are who knows how many young people living with their parents who'd like to have a place of their own. There are about 85,000 empty homes in London. What can a mayor do to sort some of this out?

I've been talking to people who know about housing in London. One of them said this:

"All the candidates admit that even with the extra powers the mayor will soon have, they can only make a difference round the edges."

Like I've said before, in some ways who wins matters a great deal, in others not much at all.

Housing Policies: What To Think?

So here's Livingstone's, published on Monday, Johnson's, published on 17th March, and Paddick's much shorter effort, published, alas, to widespread indifference. Team Ken, you'll have spotted, is making much of Johnson's pledge to scrap the "50% affordable" rule imposed on the boroughs by Livingstone. But how do the different policies really stack up against each other? I'm still trying to work that out. Seeking clues, I've discovered that on Monday the Empty Homes Agency issued all candidates with a challenge:

CAMPAIGNERS CHALLENGE LONDON MAYORAL CANDIDATES TO PLEDGE ACTION ON EMPTY HOMES

The Empty Homes Agency today throws down the gauntlet to the contenders for the London mayoralty on empty homes. In an open letter to the candidates from the main parties, the EHA invites them to respond to its five-point London Empty Homes Challenge.

The London Empty Homes Challenge asks candidates whether they will pledge to do five things to help bring back into use the capital’s 86,000 empty homes and make better use of other under-used buildings to accommodate Londoners’ housing needs. The Challenge asks candidates whether they will:

1. Set an ambitious target to cut empty homes in London.

2. Prioritise action to tackle empty property as the most environmentally and heritage-friendly way of increasing London's housing supply.

3. Actively encourage and support enforcement action by London boroughs where incentives fail to bring properties back into use.

4. Promote and support the spread of ‘short life housing’ - temporary housing use of buildings awaiting re-use, refurbishment or redevelopment.

5. Press London boroughs to abolish the remaining tax breaks for owners of empty homes.

How will the candidates respond? More cogitations to follow.

Johnson's Housing Policy: Livingstone Responds

From the Team Ken website, posted Sunday:

"Boris Johnson's repeated pledge to abolish the policy that 50% of new housing in London must be affordable housing would have devastating consequences for Londoners. Given the huge upward pressure on house prices in London it would concentrate development in high priced and luxury housing, pricing houses even more out of the hands of ordinary Londoners. To understand the practical consequence it is only necessary to know that last year the Tory flagship council Wandsworth only built 11% affordable homes. In my 8 years in office housing building in London has almost doubled - from 17,000 a year to 33,000 last year, with the proportion of affordable housing rising."

Now read on.

Boris & Tall Buildings

I asked the first question at Johnson's housing policy launch, not because I had a brilliant one to hand but because no other hack volunteered. I described it yesterday as a dull effort, but it did result in The Blond further defining where he believes he differs from Livingstone on the matter of new, tall buildings. He thinks they are OK in their place - "I like the gherkin" - but wants more transparency in the planning process and more attention paid to residents' views (he'll be "a listening mayor", remember?). Building Magazine has more.

Johnson's Housing Policy: The Standard Comments

Well blow me down! They like it!

Boris Johnson Housing Manifesto Launch

Once more I display my mastery of photo journalism with this snap of Shaun Bailey - handy guy for True Blues to have under their banner - Angela Harvey, Westminster's cabinet member for housing and The Blond at the Royal Institute of British Architects this morning. It's in Portland Place, the walls are all wood-paneled, you know the score. To listen to the entire proceedings CLICK HERE.

Johnson seemed very confident. Did he know about the poll? Speaking after Grant Shapps, the shadow minister for housing, he painted a gloomy picture of too many Londoners in "cramped, overcrowded accommodation," in the context of rising prices in property and everything else. He spoke of:

"A huge affordability gap in which the average house price is now 13 times the average salary, the average price paid by a first-time buyer rose 15 percent last year to £287,000....when you consider the surge in house prices against average wages, you can see why there's been a 40% decline in first time buyers in the last five years."

Voters, please note the grasp of detail...

Citing London's particular problems, he proposed a "first steps scheme," for people paying the basic rate of income tax but not qualifying to special government schemes. He said he'd release GLA land "capable of accommodating tens of thousands of homes and transfer it to community land trusts," to be managed by housing co-ops. "All the evidence," he said, "is that housing estates run by tenants feel safest and are the safest." Committing himself to increasing affordable housing levels, he nonetheless attacked Livingstone's 50% rule as overbearing and ineffective, pledging to allow boroughs more autonomy in pursuing the "affordable" goal.

Under Mayor Johnson there would be an audit of London's 84,000 empty homes and an additional £60 million provided to bring them back into occupancy. He spoke of encouraging innovative solutions to create homes of individuality and character, citing a scheme in Wandsworth involving "flipping the lid off an underground car park." There was much praise for architect Wayne Hemingway's developments in Dartford - so that's what he was doing there the other day - a pledge to end the selling-off of private gardens (cries of "Hear! Hear!") and to protect small shops and historic views. Tall buildings were fine, "in their place," but not if locals didn't want them and he stressed the need for more transparency in the application process - spot the Ronson reference.

There was then a dull question from me about tall buildings and interesting ones from the Empty Homes Agency, a Merton Councillor, LBC and others. Johnson's answers to these confirmed the general impression of a finely-tuned political package that is long on "practical" small measures and short any anything radcial enough to be called mad. Not that housing is my long suit. Still, I've found out what the Merton Rule is.

P.S: I missed the first minute of Shaun Bailey's opening remarks because I didn't press the "record" button hard enough. I did, though, jot down the words "change" and "out of touch." Message received?

[Full housing manifesto here.]

Johnson's Housing Policy Launched Today

From Team Boris, a press release:

"BORIS JOHNSON: I WILL HELP MORE LONDONERS AFFORD THEIR OWN HOME"

Today the Conservative Candidate for Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, unveiled his Housing & Planning Manifesto. Launching the document at the Royal Institute of British Architects, Boris Johnson said:

'If we are to improve the quality of life for all Londoners then we must do something about the impact housing has on the rising cost of living. Affordable housing must be more than "decent"; it must be desirable.

'Furthermore, I will protect London’s green belt, and help regenerate the suburbs by publishing a separate strategy on how to encourage sustainable economic growth in outer London. I will protect the high street by securing affordable retail units for small, independent shops.

'I will adopt a fresh approach to housing in London to build varied and vibrant communities, not just tick boxes. If elected as Mayor I will be committed to working in partnership with the boroughs to build a better London – and to leave a lasting legacy for future generations of Londoners.'"

Of course, he hasn't actually said any of that yet. But he will be in four hours' time and Team Boris is providing a preview to help those journalists who - unlike me - won't be there to hear him in person. That, people, is how the media works. This has been (another) public service announcement.