Simon Keats is the Reform UK prospective candidate for Dorking and Horley. We spoke with Simon about his decision to stand.
“I’m amazed by Government and civil service stagnation and detachment from the people.”
Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Simon Keats, I have lived in the South of England all my life. Worked for the Met Police as a photographer for 14yrs and now a freelance photographer and video producer. I try and get involved in local groups around where I now live in Dorking time permitting. Always been interested in news and current affairs. Genuinely want to help local people and younger people in the area.
What made you decide to stand for Reform UK?
I wanted to stand for Reform as I’m amazed by Government and civil service stagnation and detachment from the people.
“I want to represent my neighbours of this new constituency”
You’re the Spokesman for Dorking and Horleywhat’s made you decide to represent this area?
I have the privilege of living in Dorking and Horley, and I want to represent my neighbours of this new constituency.
“Reform UK priorities of Lower Taxes and Cheaper Energy will directly assist people with the cost of living crisis”
What do you see as the big concerns for the constituency and what issues do you hope to champion?
When I speak to people the two big concerns that keep coming up are housing and the cost of living. Reform UK priorities of Lower Taxes and Cheaper Energy will directly assist people with the cost of living crisis, and by implementing Net zero immigration we will reduce pressure on affordable housing and public services.
For those eager to help, how can they get involved in the campaign?
Adam Hibbert is the SDP prospective candidate for Sevenoaks. We spoke with Adam about his decision to stand.
“I’m a Brexiteer from the Left tradition – frustrated at the way parliament proved incapable of living up to that result, and at Johnson’s failings over COVID”
Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
I’m a volunteer organiser for the Social Democratic Party in the South East region, married, two teenaged children, working full-time – not in a political career. I joined the SDP in February 2021.
What made you decide to stand for the SDP?
I’m a Brexiteer from the Left tradition – frustrated at the way parliament proved incapable of living up to that result, and at Johnson’s failings over COVID. Seven wasted years, and no end in sight. So, I resolved to stop spectating and get on the pitch.
The Social Democratic Party has a common-sense programme to turn the ship around. Our “social market” principles chart a centrist course very different to that of the LibDems, or Reform – one that understands Britain as our home, not as a business or a charity, putting family, community, and nation first.
“I believe it’s right and healthy for MPs to truly belong to the community they seek to represent. It’s all about bringing politics home”
You’re the Spokesman for Sevenoaks what’s made you decide to represent this area?
I’ve lived here since 2012, raised my children here, following in the footsteps of my in-laws who raised both their daughters here through the 80s and 90s. I believe it’s right and healthy for MPs to truly belong to the community they seek to represent. It’s all about bringing politics home.
Sevenoaks bleeds blue if you cut it, but Tories were wiped-out in the local elections here in May, handing the town council to the LibDems. Why? Nothing to do with the local talent here – everything to do with voter fury at the national party’s political bankruptcy and administrative chaos.
We have a parachuted Cameron ‘talent’ here, in name at least, who I can’t hope to displace. But for one nation Tories, the politically homeless and Brexit-minded Labour voters, there has to be an option on the ballot paper that registers a coherent critique of the neoliberal Blob that she, the Labour Party and the LibDems now represent. This vote must send a clear signal to whichever combination of them happens to win, to put an end to their indifference towards British values and interests. A vote for the SDP does precisely that, like nothing else.
“I’m committed to rebalancing our education system, top to bottom, to support and empower those young people who are not university-fodder”
What do you see as the big concerns for the constituency and what issues do you hope to champion?
I don’t think it’s appropriate for parliamentary candidates to fight on issues that are more properly the domain of local democracy – we’re here to influence national policy. Where national policy affects local issues, such as housing, I would urge voters to refer to our policies at the website – we know how to tackle these issues, head-on.
One of my teens attended Hadlow College, and I’m committed to rebalancing our education system, top to bottom, to support and empower those young people who are not university-fodder. I will likewise champion small enterprises, farming, and light industries, here – for a more productive, less service-heavy economy.
For those eager to help, how can they get involved in the campaign?
Above all else, we need additional members and candidates to step forward. Go to https://sdp.org.uk/ for our policies and follow the party at @SDPhq on Twitter. Please do also contact me on twitter @adhib – I’ll advertise activities there as the campaign hots up.
Our South East Branch Coordinators are looking for constituency contacts across the region, from Oxfordshire via Hampshire across to Kent. You might be able to help us give your fellow constituents a decent option on your ballot paper, if you currently lack one.
Carl Buckfield is the SDP prospective candidate for Brighton Pavilion. We spoke with Carl about his decision to stand.
“Born into a working class family I was very excited to be the first in my family to go to university and eventually get a PhD”
Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Carl Buckfield, born in Carshalton, Surrey. We moved to Brighton when I was a child to be closer to family. I have lived in Brighton the majority of my life. Born into a working class family I was very excited to be the first in my family to go to university and eventually get a PhD; I am now a psychology lecturer. I am a staunch advocate for free speech and enlightenment values. Family is the most important thing in the world to me so I like to spend my free time with them. I have also spent years volunteering for St. Vincent De Paul Society charity so I can do my small part in alleviating poverty in the local community.
“The Conservative government have been disastrous over the last 13 years. Labour has turned its back on the working class and holds us and our values in contempt”
What made you decide to stand for the SDP?
The SDP are the party of common sense, something we are sorely missing at the present. For several years before becoming an SDP member I found myself politically homeless. The Conservative government have been disastrous over the last 13 years. Labour has turned its back on the working class and holds us and our values in contempt. The Green Party – sole purpose of fighting climate change – are completely impotent in this agenda as long as they put a primacy on eco-austerity measures over nuclear energy. The Liberal Democrats recently have been neither liberal nor democratic. The SDP left-of-centre economic policies and socially conservative values are my values. The SDP has long-term fixes for the most pressing issues facing ordinary citizen such as cost of living and housing.
“Voters deserve better than some parachute candidate who bounces from constituency to constituency trying their luck at places just because they think they have the best chance of winning there”
You’re the Spokesman for Brighton Pavilion what’s made you decide to represent this area?
Brighton is my home. I think whoever runs for a constituency should at least have deep roots there. The people of Brighton deserve someone who has invested time and energy into the area and who understands what the people and the city need. Voters deserve better than some parachute candidate who bounces from constituency to constituency trying their luck at places just because they think they have the best chance of winning there. With Caroline Lucas stepping down there is real opportunity for change in Brighton.
“Brighton is the most dangerous city in East Sussex with 103 crimes per 1000 people. The crime rate is 41% higher than the county overall. More proactive frontline policing is needed”
What do you see as the big concerns for the constituency and what issues do you hope to champion?
Housing and the cost of living – Brighton is the most expensive place to live in Sussex and ranks among the most expensive places in UK. The city has catered to the increasing student population at the expense of affordable housing for permanent residents. I would work hard to tackle the level of homelessness in Brighton. The SDP will build more affordable homes and nationalise energy companies to reduce and control prices.
Commuting & travel – many Brighton residents commute to London for work. Commuting costs approx. £5600 per year which could increase to £6000 in 2024. The SDP are committed to nationalising railways. The trains are also a great opportunity for Brightonians to have relaxing weekend in London and Londoners to have a nice beach holiday. Nationalising railways will make these journeys cheaper for all and could encourage tourists to visit and spend more in Brighton.
Drugs and crime – Brighton is the drugs misuse death capital of the South East. As an addiction researcher I am committed to reducing the harms associated with drug use and making everyone healthier. Brighton is the most dangerous city in East Sussex with 103 crimes per 1000 people. The crime rate is 41% higher than the county overall. More proactive frontline policing is needed.
For those eager to help, how can they get involved in the campaign?
I highly encourage people to join the SDP – check out our policies: https://sdp.org.uk/
People can contact me on [email protected] or on twitter @CBuck_SDP. Volunteers for leafletting and canvassing are always welcome. Finally, I also encourage people to stand. Check out our website to see if SDP are standing in your area: https://sdp.org.uk/general-election-candidates/. I am standing in Brighton Pavilion and Valerie Gray, is standing in Brighton Kemptown. It would be great if someone could stand in Hove.
We spoke with Les Beaumont when he ran for council in 2022. Les is now the SDP’s prospective candidate for the Ealing North constituency.
“Labour has abandoned working-class values and Tory rule has seen a disastrous decline in our wealth, resources and social cohesion”
Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
I’ve lived in the Ealing North constituency and its predecessor since 1995. I’m married with four grown-up children and four grandchildren. I enjoy cycling, reading, and watching football (born in North London, I’m a lifelong Arsenal fan) and take a keen interest in current affairs.
Before retirement, I ran a commercial cleaning company. You’ll now find me during the week at my local community-run library.
What made you decide to stand again for the SDP?
The major parties can’t match the mix of left-of-centre economic policies and socially conservative values that are unique to the SDP.
Our motto is ‘Family Community Nation’ and we are passionate about ensuring that government nurtures all three. Sadly, Labour has abandoned working-class values and Tory rule has seen a disastrous decline in our wealth, resources and social cohesion.
“the SDP’s goal is a united community grounded in a common vision of what the nation is and what it stands for”
You’re the Spokesman for Ealing North what’s made you decide to represent this area?
I stood in the local council elections in 2022. I’m standing again in the general election to give my fellow constituents the chance to vote for the SDP. A party that represents what I believe are the values and aspirations of the vast majority of British people.
Ealing’s is a diverse population but whatever your religion, ethnicity or heritage, the SDP’s goal is a united community grounded in a common vision of what the nation is and what it stands for.
“The SDP has a comprehensive set of policies to tackle these issues. Not short-term fixes but long-term solutions”
What do you see as the big concerns for the constituency and what issues do you hope to champion?
The Economy, Health and Housing.
The SDP has a comprehensive set of policies to tackle these issues. Not short-term fixes but long-term solutions. Solutions that will re-energise our country and bring us lasting prosperity, will transform our health service into one to be proud of once again and will build homes in which our young people can bring up a family in comfort and security.
For those eager to help, how can they get involved in the campaign?
Join the SDP! Go to https://sdp.org.uk/ read our policies and click on Join in the top right-hand corner of the screen. You can become a member or, for just £1 a month, become a Friend of the SDP.
Alternatively, if you’d rather just help out, email [email protected].
Stephen Mcnamara is the Reform UK prospective candidate for Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke. We spoke with Stephen last year in his role as a political advisor, below we speak to him about his candidacy.
“for several years now, usually working behind the scenes to recruit potential candidates into the world of politics. For that, I probably owe the world an apology…”
Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a long-distance luxury coach driver during my working week, but the Stephen McNamara known more publicly has been politically active for several years now, usually working behind the scenes to recruit potential candidates into the world of politics. For that, I probably owe the world an apology…
What made you decide to stand for Reform UK?
I felt politically homeless for a period there. I helped a few independents and a new group for about a year or so, but I had been approached on a few occasions to join reform. I was reluctant at first as I knew what happened in the run up to the 2019 General Election and I was sceptical that this would be another repeat of that. I didn’t want to waste my time if that was the plan.
Over the following weeks and months, I sought reassurance from the main party leadership, and they assured me that the plan was to oust the incumbent party from government ultimately seek to replace them as one of the mainstream viable options for voters.
The Scottish organiser and colleagues made me feel quite welcome since joining and encouraged me to go through the internal vetting process. I’ve been approved now as a prospective candidate and now planning my election campaign to reach out to as many people as possible.
“labour and the SNP are just as bad and that to effect real change it means voting for something new. There’s no bigger proverbial insult to the Tories than voting for Reform!”
You’re the Spokesperson for Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke what’s made you decide to represent this area?
This is where I’m based for my other day job. My youngest daughter was born in Wishaw when I used to stay in Motherwell, and I know the area reasonably well. I also know there’s still a harbouring hatred of the Tories in the area, but I hope to be able to help these same people understand that labour and the SNP are just as bad and that to effect real change it means voting for something new. There’s no bigger proverbial insult to the Tories than voting for Reform!
“Unemployment is quite possibly the biggest issue for many people here. Tory policies from the 80’s are still being felt some 40 years later. The previous Labour government was so incompetent that they just made things worse”
What do you see as the big concerns for the constituency and what issues do you hope to champion?
Unemployment is quite possibly the biggest issue for many people here. Tory policies from the 80’s are still being felt some 40 years later. The previous Labour government was so incompetent that they just made things worse with their constant interference in the economy. With the government switching back to Conservative and now possibly looking like another Labour government again, the people of this constituency are simply being played like a ball in a game of tennis, smacked around the political court with no hope of winning. That’s where Reform come in. Get rid of the incompetent two and move this democracy forward once more.
For those eager to help, how can they get involved in the campaign?
In Scotland especially, we still have a lot of ground to cover. I’m only one man after all so I cannot get around to speaking and meeting everyone. Reform is that breath of fresh air needed to revitalise the country’s stale economic outlook. Join the growing list of members who are frustrated with the status quo and help in any way that you can. You can also follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/StephenMcLbrtrn or find Reform UK at https://www.reformparty.uk/.
In November we held our 3rd My tuppenceworth event giving you the opportunity to speak to those assembled on an issue that really matters to you.
Crispin Williams spoke on House of Lords Reform and his speech is below.
“it is the only upper house of any parliament in the world to be bigger than its lower house; and it is the world’s second largest legislative chamber after the National People’s Congress of China”
There is fairly general agreement that the House of Lords is in need of reform. It currently has more members (785) than there are physical seats in the chamber; it is the only upper house of any parliament in the world to be bigger than its lower house; and it is the world’s second largest legislative chamber after the National People’s Congress of China. Many peers either rarely attend or just turn up to collect their attendance allowance.
Furthermore, there has been a tendency in recent years to make an increasing number of political appointments to the Lords, often by ‘promoting’ MPs who have lost their seats or rewarding party advisers.
“even if affiliated to a political party, Lords may express personal views without fear of losing their seat and, in fact, often speak out against party lines. I cannot express too strongly the importance of this independence from the politics of the lower chamber”
The purpose of the House of Lords is – or at least should be – as a scrutinising and revising chamber that looks dispassionately at legislation passed by the Commons, often hurriedly and for political expediency, to ensure that it is logical, workable, and fair. This should be done without the constraints of party whips. The growth in the number of overtly political Lords threatens this independence. Nevertheless, even if affiliated to a political party, Lords may express personal views without fear of losing their seat and, in fact, often speak out against party lines. I cannot express too strongly the importance of this independence from the politics of the lower chamber.
I am, therefore, vehemently against an elected House. This would almost certainly just reflect the composition of the Commons, making the Lords even more political and it would inevitably lead to legislation passed by the Commons being nodded through at the behest of the whips. In short, an elected Lords would negate the very reasons for its existence.
“I would argue that its role as a scrutinising and moderating body is essential. To achieve this role satisfactorily, the Lords should be populated with the ‘great and the good’”
There are those who would welcome the abolition of the Lords altogether, but I would argue that its role as a scrutinising and moderating body is essential. To achieve this role satisfactorily, the Lords should be populated with the ‘great and the good’, i.e., people with experience, expertise and intelligence, not just failed MPs, party donors and spotty, brown-nosing ex-SPADS (special advisers).
“This committee would be composed of people in leading positions in public life but nominated by the position they hold, not by personality. Thus, the holders of specific posts would automatically have a say in selection, whoever they may be”
My suggestion is for members of the House of Lords to be selected by an appointments committee. This committee would be composed of people in leading positions in public life but nominated by the position they hold, not by personality. Thus, the holders of specific posts would automatically have a say in selection, whoever they may be.
Below I give some examples of the kind of positions that might comprise the appointment committee. As I say, these are just examples and there can be much further debate as to the final choice.
The Prime Minister and, say, two leading cabinet positions
The Leader of the Opposition and one other Shadow Cabinet member
The Leader of any other party with a given number of seats in the Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Lords
The First Minister of Scotland
The First Minister of Wales
The Mayor of London
The Archbishop of Canterbury
The Prince of Wales
The Governor of the Bank of England
The General Secretary of the TUC
The Director-General of the CBI
The Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality
The Chair of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes
Each of these committee members would be free to put forward nominations for seats in the House of Lords. Nominations could also come from the public via a mechanism whereby anyone reaching a particular threshold would be put forward to the appointments committee.
This would lead to a House of high-quality people being elected by a committee with balanced views. Clearly, some of the above might also be Lords themselves.
This revised House of Lords would comprise 250 members, re-appointed on a staggered 10-year basis, with no restriction on the number of times a member could be re-appointed.
In November we held our 3rd My tuppenceworth event giving you the opportunity to speak to those assembled on an issue that really matters to you.
Mike Swadling gave an update on Croydon Council and his speech is below.
“Croydon is 29th on the list of highest real terms increase at 114%. We are paying well over double the real terms rate we were 1993″
We are the Croydon Constitutionalists. Constitutionalists signifies that we believe in the principles of English constitutional government through electoral politics, and the Croydon part is self-evident we are a local organisation. So, 18 months into a new Croydon council led by a new executive mayor what’s happening in our town?
Firstly, let’s take a little step back in time. The Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) has published data showing that of the 450 local authorities that have continually existed since the Council Tax was first introduced in 1993, Croydon is 29th on the list of highest real terms increase at 114%. We are paying well over double the real terms rate we were 1993. We are still de facto bankrupt and we are paying through the nose for it.
“Croydon was one of 47 councils, about 10%, who failed to submit accounts on time. I get that this is doing less, but can it really be called better?”
In an interview in August Croydon’s chief executive, Katherine Kerswell, gave some encouraging words when she said: “Our ambition is to become an efficient council – to deliver essential services well, offer value for money, to listen to the people of Croydon, and simply do what we say we will do. So how do we get there? We must do less, better”
Fine words, but what have we seen in practice. To quote: “Croydon council in South London paid 21 staff six-figure salaries last year. Its top earner was chief executive Katherine Kerswell on £192,474.”
I took this information from a June article in the Daily Express. Not able to take it from the TPA’s Town Hall Rich list report as Croydon was one of 47 councils, about 10%, who failed to submit accounts on time. I get that this is doing less, but can it really be called better?
I tried to verify this data on the council’s website as I should be able to. If anyone cares to search it and can find a decent list, please send me the link. Eventually I found a list of job titles listed in an unclear format in a PDF file on the site which is I suppose meeting their statutory requirement.
Again, I get that this is Croydon Council doing less but is it really doing it better? Worse still whist 21 is down on the 29 roles paid over £100K the council had last year; it is up on the 19 roles the year before. Last year was a year of transition and I believe not all these roles overlapped, so it appears, and the lack of clear publications make this hard to see, that top end spending at the council is back on the increase.
“spending public funds on arts that are not viable commercially or via voluntary donations as the council has been doing for years, is no less of a waste of money when it comes from someone else’s funding stream”
Croydon is the London Borough of Culture for 2023. As part of this they are committed to spending £522,500 in 2022/23, and £452,500 in 2023/24. Additionally, £1,350,000 will come from the GLA, and £1,900,000 is expected from Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage.
I believe spending public funds on arts that are not viable commercially or via voluntary donations as the council has been doing for years, is no less of a waste of money when it comes from someone else’s funding stream.
“Of the £623,000 spent on the London Borough of Culture in that time, £34K went to Redacted, what are they hiding from us?”
As part of this in the last 4 months Croydon Council has published figures of Borough of Culture spending which include £113K that went to Think Events (London) Ltd, £75K went to Stanley Arts, £67K to White Label Publishing Ltd, £42K to Theatre – Rites, and £39K to London Mozart Players, I could go on and on. Of the £623,000 spent on the London Borough of Culture in that time, £34K went to Redacted, what are they hiding from us?
“in 4 months £623,000 of taxpayers’ money spent not feeding needy families, not boosting our town centre, not providing social services for the most vulnerable, but on painted Giraffes and non-commercially viable arts”
May I remind you this is in the last 4 months that data has been published for, May to July. This is 4 months, not one year, not over the two-year programme. That is in 4 months £623,000 of taxpayers’ money spent not feeding needy families, not boosting our town centre, not providing social services for the most vulnerable, but on painted Giraffes and non-commercially viable arts.
Yes, things are better than 18 months ago. We are no longer haemorrhaging money through Brick by Brick, and we are slowly unwinding the commercial property failures of the last administration. But when it comes to transparency and wise use of public funds, it’s hard to argue they are doing things better at Croydon Council.
In November we held our 3rd My tuppenceworth event giving you the opportunity to speak to those assembled on an issue that really matters to you.
Mike Swadling spoke on the issue of housing and his speech is below.
“with so much of our housing stock built between the wars it’s seems likely the number of homes in need of replacement will increase rapidly in the next couple of decades”
At the recent Battle of Ideas, I attended a panel on ‘Housing Britain: Yimbys vs Nimbys’. For a contentious topic there was a surprising degree of unanimity among the panel and audience on the need to build, and even what to build. Most disagreement came on the process of how to get it done.
I am firmly of the belief we need to build housing, and we need to build lots of it. There is a general consensus to meet current levels of demand we need to build around 300,000 new homes per year. In 2022 we built 232,000 new homes.
In checking the data for this I found numbers for new build and net new homes seemingly used interchangeably. This may be in part because of property conversions, but clearly these are not the same thing. However, it does strike me that with so much of our housing stock built between the wars it’s seems likely the number of homes in need of replacement will increase rapidly in the next couple of decades.
All this has led to a growing number of concealed households”, now believed to total 1.6 million potential households of people who would like to be in their own home but can’t because of shortages. We are believed to have about 260,000 long-term empty homes in England but even if somehow these were magically all brought back into use they would solve little of the overall problem. Even second home ownership lies at about 3% and is little changed in decades.
Whatever the reasons behind it, we have a problem today with a lack of houses. We have a problem with a younger generation feeling increasingly disengaged from our society when they can’t leave home and build their own lives. We also have a problem with rising costs for care as an increasingly aging population often face a choice between staying in their own home or being in a care home, with little suitable middle ground alternatives. In short, we need to build baby build.
“People will more willingly accept hosing built in their area if they believe we have control of our borders and if local people from the community the homes are built in are given priority”
Necessary Pre-requisites
There are however some necessary prerequisites to oversee a largescale increase in housebuilding. People need to believe these are houses for their families, their community, not just to be brought by overseas property speculators or used to house the worlds migrants coming to our shores. People will more willingly accept hosing built in their area if they believe we have control of our borders and if local people from the community the homes are built in are given priority to fill them.
“At the battle of ideas panel on housing one member of the audience was simultaneously praising the green belt and complaining about the intensification of building in the city”
At the battle of ideas panel on housing one member of the audience was simultaneously praising the green belt and complaining about the intensification of building in the city. As someone who lives on the doorstep of the green belt and has seen 157 flats go up next to my home, I can’t help but wonder if one or two of the farmers’ fields in the green belt near me could be used to provide 157 houses rather than have flats built on what was my town’s main car park.
Don’t worry about us running out of land, it would take about 5 football pitches to build 157 homes at 4 bedrooms (these flats are not 4 bedrooms), that would use 7 of the 17.2 million hectares of farmland we have in the UK. (This would provide 385 million homes, with currently about 30million in the UK).
The green belt lovely though it maybe, ensures we live in ever more crowded cities, rather than expand them as the need for housing expands. We are in Croydon, a Surrey market town built out to accommodate the expanding population of London, why are we insisting that future generations live in ever more cramped environments rather than in new suburbs or towns further out.
“Can anyone cite examples where cramping people into tighter spaces gives good outcomes?”
Can anyone cite examples where cramping people into tighter spaces gives good outcomes? A hundred years ago we were clearing out the slums. The high rise post war blocks of flats were generally seen as a disaster in my youth. I wonder why we are intent on recreating them.
What to do
So, what are we to do? I say we need to build bigger, build beautiful, build better, and build for everyone. What would this mean in practice.
Build beautiful – At last year’s Battle of Ideas, Ike Ijeh the architect, and 2019 Brexit Party candidate, spoke about how he had seen developers have success getting acceptance from the local community for new builds through well laid out design. Beautiful well laid out communities, which could well include a mixture of flats and houses are more likely to be approved than throwing another box of 9 flats on a previous 1 home plot.
“We all benefit from better high-end homes; we all get the chance to move up the market and we will free up what used to be called starter homes”
Build bigger – I was impressed by an article I read last year on ‘how building expensive homes can help people on low incomes’. The article proposes we should focus on building more £5million homes rather than £120,000 ones. To quote the article “adding homes that are better quality than the existing stock allows people to move out of the existing stock into better homes, and frees up existing stock for suppressed households.” We all benefit from better high-end homes; we all get the chance to move up the market and we will free up what used to be called starter homes. Few communities would object to an estate of £5million homes being build on the edge of town, and few property developers would sit on this planning permission.
Build better – We need to build new estates with services, shops, schools, transport, and things that people want. We can’t build just based on environmentalist dreamlands, where someone after a hard day’s work will somehow pick-up the kids from the childminder and pop to the shops on a push bike.
We are not going to build everything we need just on the edge of cities and as much as I don’t believe it should be sacred the green belt has a purpose. After the war we built new towns in Crawley, Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn Garden City, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Northampton, and many other places. These might not make it to your bucket list of destinations to visit but they are good places for work and to raise families.
“Coming into land at Gatwick airport on a sunny day you can see from Croydon to Brighton and view the miles of greenery in between”
Local to us Crawley houses 118,500 people. Coming into land at Gatwick airport on a sunny day you can see from Croydon to Brighton and view the miles of greenery in between. Only the airport and Crawley stand out as major developments. 3 more airports and Crawley’s in the view and it would still be overwhelmingly green, 6 more and you would still think you are viewing the countryside. We could build 2 more Crawley’s in the area of the A22 to A24 corridors and hardly notice.
Croydon has a 10 year housing target from the Mayor of London of 20,790 new homes (2019 – 2028). This on top of the thousands of new homes already built in the borough in recent years. One new Crawley built with the industrial estates, shopping centres, office blocks, schools, doctors and everything else needed to form a community could at this rate supply 60 years of growth needed in Croydon and over a third of our annual UK wide rate of new homes growth.
“with about a quarter of the country having less than £500 worth of savings it is reasonable to assume many will never buy their own home”
Build for everyone – There are not many times I believe government can help, but I increasingly believe we need to build more social housing, and government will need to play a part in this. As someone who was born into the Regina Road Estate council blocks now being pulled down by Croydon Council, I have little faith in their ability to provide property. However, with about a quarter of the country having less than £500 worth of savings it is reasonable to assume many will never buy their own home. We can argue how much government provided housing is needed, who should run it and what right to buy schemes we should have. But, we do need to provide something for the taxpayer and for renters that is not just busting budgets to pay for private rents.
“Why not offer what I might call free ports of housing. Designated areas with council tax holidays for new development or major upgrades to a generation of remote workers keen to get on the housing ladder, encouraged to less fashionable parts of the country”
Some of the problems I have described are local or they are a southeast problem. We have a whole country much of which is not so expensive to live in and could do with attracting more young people. Why not offer what I might call free ports of housing. Designated areas with council tax holidays for new development or major upgrades to a generation of remote workers keen to get on the housing ladder, encouraged to less fashionable parts of the country by an influx of similar people and tax breaks. Let’s level up the country by helping to spread the wealth and helping people better their lives.
We build properties not just for now but for use 100 years from now, we have a changing population, with greater demand and desires. Why not build better, bigger homes, why not let people have second homes, whilst also catering for those who need help. We have the land let’s make use of it, whilst also encouraging people to move across the country. This does require some government action but is best achieved by them laying foundations and then getting out of the way whilst we build baby build.
Join us for a live interview and Q&A with Tony Brown Libertarian Party Candidate for Mayor of London on Wednesday 17th January at 7pm.
The Libertarian Party advocate for individual rights, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism, and the constraint of government size and influence.
Venue:
Upstairs, Whispers, 5 High St, Purley CR8 2AF
Part of our #ThirdWednesday drinks and events, we hold these in association with Dick Delingpole’s #ThirdWednesday Libertarian drinks club, and POLITICS in PUBS a group of people from across the political spectrum who value the freedom to question and to speak openly.
Join usUpstairs, Whispers, 5 High St, Purley CR8 2AF on Wednesday 17th January, from 7pm.
