Anger over ‘inaccurate’ claims in campaign material
Healey and Shapps start war of words
Housing minister John Healey and his opponent Grant Shapps have become embroiled in a war of words at the start of the general election campaign.
Mr Healey threatened to take action over allegations in a campaign leaflet while Mr Shapps demanded literature containing ‘false allegations’ be ‘destroyed’.
Last week, Mr Healey wrote to Mr Shapps demanding the Conservative housing spokesperson and one of his party’s candidates stop making ‘incorrect’ claims about Mr Healey’s policy on homeownership.
Michelle Donelan, who is standing for election in Mr Healey’s Wentworth and Dearne constituency, had distributed a leaflet claiming the minister had said that ‘it was time to give up the dream of homeownership’. Mr Shapps later repeated the quote at an event.
But the housing minister said he had never suggested people should stop aspiring to homeownership.
In his response, Mr Shapps argued Labour was ‘spreading unfounded and baseless statements about David Cameron, myself and Conservative policies on social tenure and rents’.
He said allegations made by Mr Healey about the Conservatives on a number of occasions, including his speech to the Labour Party conference last autumn, were ‘unfounded and baseless scare tactics’ and also demanded ‘all Labour Party material containing your false allegations should be withdrawn and destroyed’.
He also said the Tories had no plans to change security of tenure for existing or future tenants or raise their rents towards market levels.
The letters came as the parties prepared to launch their election manifestos. The Conservatives have said they will create Local Housing Trusts to help communities build affordable homes and reward well-behaved council tenants by giving them an equity stake in their homes.
Mr Shapps is also making plans to bypass the Homes and Communities Agency and give social housing grant direct to councils with elected mayors.
The Liberal Democrats say they will bring 250,000 empty homes back into use, free councils to build more social homes by changing public sector borrowing rules, and create a ‘warmer homes’ energy efficiency programme.
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Readers' comments (6)
alex kendall | 09/04/2010 8:44 am
Can we put Grant and John on to a sink estate to meet ordinary people and learn what life is about...Sorry staged media events will not work in this environment.
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Dave Hollins | 09/04/2010 11:33 am
If Mr Shapps is now promising no change to security for existing AND future tenants then that seems to me to be a change of position because he and his colleagues have been at the least equivocal about future tenants in previous statements.
If thiis is correct then it is a great victory for people who have campaigned against changes in security over the past few years. There are so many people in the Tory Party who do support the ending of security and the raising of rents towards market levels that there was a strong risk that the Party would go for this as its national policy. Looking at what Tories in places like Hammersmith - Mr Cameron's favourite borough - and Barnet have said, there was a very severe risk to tenants' rights and affordability.
Mr Healey has also done a lot to raise the issue, so he deserves some credit for seeing off the Ghengis Khan wing of the Tory Party - assuming, that is, we can believe what Mr Shapps is saying.
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the purple avenger | 09/04/2010 1:47 pm
Worsethan children squabbl;ing in a play ground. How can we really have any respect for or belief in these people given how they behave.
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Steve | 12/04/2010 9:54 am
If the Tory policy is to impose market rents on social housing and remove security of tenure, they are effectively looking to abolish social housing. Certainly they'll also reduce investment in what is currently social housing in favour of the NHS, Education (maybe), defence to name a few. I fear the future is grim.
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Martin Ballard | 15/04/2010 12:02 pm
It's really not that difficult. Stop all this tiresome talk about "affordable" "social" "local housing trusts" etc. What a load of bull!
Allow local authorities to borrow all they need to build environment friendly council houses and make LAs responsible for reducing the waiting lists through new build (not by massaging the lists). Relaunch the building industry at the same time, plasterers, brickies, electricians - collect taxes instead of paying benefits. It aint rocket science.
The problem is the misplaced faith (and our taxes) invested in the private housing sector (includes housing associations) that doesn't seem to build in non-profitable times? despite all the rhetoric.
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Disgusted ex Labour Voter of Wentworth | 16/04/2010 1:00 am
John Healey has, quite clearly, not given up on the "dream" of home ownership...
"John Healey 'facing questions' over £88,000 profit made from second home sale"
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