Poll jumping politics
Nick Clegg has spent the past week dodging bouquets following his winning performance in the UK’s first televised leadership debate.
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Sheltered housing residents will be pleased that, rather than basking in the praise, the Liberal Democrat leader has chosen to share some of the love with them.
In an exclusive interview in this week’s magazine Mr Clegg reveals he thinks that sheltered housing tenants should be given a vote on any plans to remove resident wardens from their schemes.
As our front page story suggests, this is a proposal that is likely to win him some votes. Protest group Sheltered Housing UK, which campaigns to retain live-in wardens, has been scrutinising parliamentary candidates and will tell its members ahead of May’s poll which ones support their cause. Candidates in a number of key marginals could well glide to power on the back of angry ‘silver surfers’. As Vernon Yarker, chair of SHUK, states, older people are one of the most likely sections of society to vote.
It’s a clever move by Mr Clegg - but in speaking out he also demonstrates that this is an issue that just won’t go away for housing providers, however much they might want it to. Many know this all too well as they face court cases from residents furious with the removal of wardens from their schemes. Barnet and Portsmouth Councils - found to have acted unlawfully in the way they drew up plans for the removal of live-in wardens - act as a warning that councils should not take victory in such cases for granted.
If councils and housing associations don’t want to get sucked into endless conflict with tenants they need to come up with a plan of action, and quickly.
Thus far some housing providers have veered dangerously close to suggesting that, frankly, tenants don’t know what’s good for them. One well-respected housing association board member admitted as much recently when she suggested the approach taken by some providers had set rational discussion of the issue back by several years.
An adult debate - including the financial cost of providing resident wardens - is needed.
If providers are already convinced they have the best argument they should have little to fear from Mr Clegg’s suggestion that they should embrace the ballot box.