17 March 2008 16:12
WHEN was the last time that Labour accused the Conservatives of stealing its housing policies? While there has been plenty of cross-dressing from Tory to Labour (right to buy, private renting deregulation, stock transfer etc etc), it's hard to think of an example of it happening the other way round since the end of the post-war competition between the two parties to build more council houses.
But this morning Ken Livingstone accused Boris Johnson, his Tory rival for London mayor, of lifting his plan for 50,000 affordable homes in the capital over the next three years. 'Most of Boris Johnson's other housing proposals are simply pinched from policies I have already announced in my housing strategy or at meetings with London councils,' he raged.
That sounds like good news for people in housing need and it's also a pointer to the likely direction of national Conservative housing policy, with shadow housing spokesman Grant Shapps appearing at the press conference alongside Johnson. However, a closer reading reveals significant differences between the two parties' approaches despite the fact that both are playing the same numbers game.
At first sight Johnson's housing manifesto [download the press release here and complete policy document here] includes some very familiar ideas. The big new idea - the FirstSteps Housing Scheme - even adopts the New Labour penchant for turning two words into one. The scheme would involve releasing land owned by the GLA and taking £130m from the regional housing pot to fund homes at 20% below market cost. However, the push for low-cost home ownership would go much further than Labour has proposed. Shared ownership schemes would be increased by a third - and any Londoner earning less than £34,600 would qualify. That would mean everyone except higher-rate taxpayers, which is certainly one way of recognising London's unique affordability problem.
Johnson would drop Livingstone's 50% affordable homes target for new developments in favour of setting unit targets for individual boroughs. He would also change the London plan to ensure more family-sized accomodation, do more on empty property and even publish an online fair rents guide for the capital. Many of the ideas sound constructive, although there must be questions about his ability to deliver and about whether increases in shared ownership will be matched by reductions in the new rented programme.
For Livingstone, dropping the 50% target will make 50,000 homes unachievable. 'Johnson's is a policy to completely turn the clock back and would be immensely damaging for Londoners looking for a new affordable home to rent or buy,' he said.
As the campaign for the election hots up, it's clear that housing will be one of the major issues. Although there is still a long way to go, an opinion poll for today's Evening Standard gives Johnson a 12 point lead.
Posted by Jules Birch, March 17
Posted in Local government, Low-cost home ownership, Politics