Paul Mason

• Comment on: Working people to get housing priority under Labour

  Paul Mason's comment | 13/06/2011 2:50 pm

  @Rick -
  
  It's really easy why there's the demonising of people in social rented housing
  
  It's the same reason why there's the demonisation of people who work in social rented housing (or any other part of the public sector, except doctors, nurses and 'our boys')
  
  
  It's because most of the media is to the right of (even this) government, didn't like a coalition government and want to be desperately sure it doesn't happen again.
  
  So it's really important to raise the levels of jealousy and anger about people getting anything at all from 'The State'. If you can breed this jealousy and anger then people's first response to any sort of state handout is 'Why can't I have that' closely followed by 'If I can't have that, I don't want them to have that either' - leading to a gradual erosion of that fundamental human value of being in a society together and looking after anyone.
  
  So if everybody in social rented housing are immigrant benefit scroungers living in large multi-bedroom houses which would cost millions on the market with flat-screen TV's "FLAT SCREEN TVs!!" then no wonder people don't believe in social housing or social anything for that matter.
  
  (... because, let's face it, those are the only social housing stories you ever see in the papers, so it's not surprising that the people who live in houses they've bought think we're all like that)

• Comment on: Working people to get housing priority under Labour

  Paul Mason's comment | 13/06/2011 2:50 pm

  @Rick -
  
  It's really easy why there's the demonising of people in social rented housing
  
  It's the same reason why there's the demonisation of people who work in social rented housing (or any other part of the public sector, except doctors, nurses and 'our boys')
  
  
  It's because most of the media is to the right of (even this) government, didn't like a coalition government and want to be desperately sure it doesn't happen again.
  
  So it's really important to raise the levels of jealousy and anger about people getting anything at all from 'The State'. If you can breed this jealousy and anger then people's first response to any sort of state handout is 'Why can't I have that' closely followed by 'If I can't have that, I don't want them to have that either' - leading to a gradual erosion of that fundamental human value of being in a society together and looking after anyone.
  
  So if everybody in social rented housing are immigrant benefit scroungers living in large multi-bedroom houses which would cost millions on the market with flat-screen TV's "FLAT SCREEN TVs!!" then no wonder people don't believe in social housing or social anything for that matter.
  
  (... because, let's face it, those are the only social housing stories you ever see in the papers, so it's not surprising that the people who live in houses they've bought think we're all like that)

• Comment on: Labour MPs launch attack on housing associations

  Paul Mason's comment | 09/05/2011 2:07 pm

  I know I'm a bit late to this, but for the people who turn every IH story into a political row, it is worth pointing out that John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn are in no way New Labour - and would have probably argued in exactly the same way against the Labour Government's action in this area.

• Comment on: Choice based lettings a 'cause of ethnic segregation'

  Paul Mason's comment | 04/04/2011 4:46 pm

  This is one of those stories that's up there with 'Pope a Catholic'.
  
  If you give people a choice on where they live, then they'll go and live there.
  
  In general groups of people with similar views, values and community will go and live together.
  
  So if I'm a Manchester City fan, then I'll go and live with the other Manchester City Fans where I'm surrounded by Manchester City shops and cafes - or at least I will if I get the chance. That's the great thing about choice.
  
  Go to Manchester and you'll find that there are, in general, more people of a South Asian background on the Longsight estate and more of a Carribean background on the Alexandra Park estate. Pretty much the same era/design/conditions/ desirability of estate.
  
  The question isn't whether this happens, but whether (and, importantly, how) this a problem

• Comment on: Affordable rents difficult for larger London homes

  Paul Mason's comment | 30/03/2011 10:36 am

  The Alice in Wonderland thinking around the '80% of Market Rent' in London is that the market rent for a Right-to-Buy ex council property is probably about 80% of the median market rent, because the location of ex-council flats (ie - on council estates) is less desirable, in market terms.
  
  So, in a sense, 80% of (overall) market rent is very near full market price in those areas.

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