So the age of aspiration is back. What with all the grim news out there a little hope can go a long way.
In his first speech as housing minister today Grant Shapps adopted an upbeat tone against a decidedly downbeat backdrop.
He told an audience at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that HIPs were history and ‘home ownership is a very good thing’. This was a direct reference to John Healey’s musings that the recent fall in ownership might not be a bad thing.
Up to 1.4m people wanted to buy but could not do so because of house prices and lack of mortgage availability. They would be given the opportunity.
Top-down targets would be scrapped too. ‘By unleashing the aspirations of communities as well as individuals to build homes where and when they are needed, we will bring about greater certainty,’ he said. ‘Certainty that will replace the conflict caused by imposing housing numbers from right here in Whitehall. Certainty that will give investors confidence to invest.’
So far, so good. But the speech was rather longer on hope and aspiration than it was on real expectation.
‘The more power we give away - the more people will act to generate real change,’ he told the audience. ‘For the first time incentives will create direct benefits for local communities. Bringing jobs, investment and yes - more homes for local people.’
That leaves a lot riding on an untested new system that critics fear will mean fewer new homes and housebuilders are warning could be a ‘recipe for disaster’ without transitional arrangements in place.
On home ownership, Shapps said the government was not in the business of pouring cold water on people’s aspirations.
But realising them seems to be more about hope than expectation. He said many analysts were predicting short or medium term falls in ownership ‘and given the appalling financial legacy left to us – they could be right’.
In a question and answer session afterwards the minister said that ‘the cash for affordable housing had run out’.
It seems that housing black hole is growing by the day. He said that the £780m of cash from other departments that was meant to fund Labour’s affordable housing pledge had never been transferred.
And while he signalled support for shared ownership, the emphasis seemed to be on schemes promoted by the private sector, with social homebuy and rent to homebuy named as social sector schemes that were not delivering.
He also said he would ditch plans for a national register of landlords, according to The Guardian. That was part of a package of private rented sector reforms proposed by Labour in the wake of the Rugg Review.
But not even that has saved him from being criticised by the National Landlords Association for swallowing the ‘own your own home’ myth.
Housing minister is never going to be an easy job – especially in the current economic situation. But a little hope can go a long way. At least I hope it can.
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