More than hot air?

And on the face of it this year looks to be no different, except the attempt to promote a unified front is becoming much more of a struggle than during the Blair years.

But behind the scenes there is much going on that could have a profound impact on the future of social housing.

Of particular importance will be a key vote on a document produced by the Labour Party working group on housing. If it goes through it could pave the way for councils to be directly funded to invest in social housing.

Pressure groups such as Defend Council Housing have been demanding this ‘fourth option’ for council housing finance for years, and are now on the edge of what some see as a major breakthrough.

DCH wants councils to be encouraged to maintain and build homes for social tenants, and has vociferously opposed what it sees as the ‘privatisation’ of council homes by housing associations and arm’s-length management organisations.

But if the campaign does achieve its aims it won’t be able to take sole credit – the housing market crisis that is causing Gordon Brown and his colleagues such problems has played a big part. Faced with a falling market, house builders aren’t building, so investment through section 106 planning deals is drying up.

Housing minister Caroline Flint has already said in a letter to the housing policy working group that she is in favour of a ‘level playing field’ for investment. But whether conference will back the proposals remains to be seen.

There is also some confusion about the voting process – Labour has revised the way motions are put to conference, and no-one is quite sure how the intricacies of the voting system will work.

If DCH and its supporters get their way, however, this conference could go down – in housing circles at least – as being something more than another Labour showcase.

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