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Tag: housing

Nicky come lately still doesn’t get it for all his Damascene conversion to capital spending

Nicky come lately still doesn’t get it for all his Damascene conversion to capital spending

The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has realised, he says, that the Government cut capital spending too fast. After this no doubt a whole industry – construction – is now saying “we agree with Nick”. The sad twist is that in reality it is Nick that now agrees with the industry. Sad because the nation has had to endure a long haul where opportunities were missed and huge damage done. Sadder still because there’s little hope of a meaningful boost…

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New towns, greater homeownership and localism heavy: a possible Labour housing strategy?

New towns, greater homeownership and localism heavy: a possible Labour housing strategy?

Business Secretary Vince Cable has in recent weeks upped the debate on house building and yesterday called together a mix of top folk from across the housing spectrum to chat about ideas for financing more homes. It’s encouraging. It indicates that the Government is eager to improve the wretched state of house building. But it’s also worrying. Last November the Coalition launched a “radical and unashamedly ambitious” housing strategy for England. What of that?

The Housing Strategy: Was that it?

The Housing Strategy: Was that it?

There’s little doubt that we need radical solutions to build more homes. There is a broad consensus for that view, leaving aside supporters of Malthus, the Daily Telegraph anti-house-building campaign and a few others. There’s little doubt also that the issues are complex and we need a strategy rather than one big idea to save the day. But unless I am very much mistaken the 88-page Laying the Foundations: A Housing Strategy for England probably doesn’t amount to a strategy…

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Reasons to be cheerful as the official construction figures show output dropping

Reasons to be cheerful as the official construction figures show output dropping

The latest official data seem to provide yet more evidence of the decline in construction output, although the picture may not be as bleak – yet – as the published figures suggest if taken at face value. You shouldn’t really read too much into one month’s figures anyway in an industry that can be highly volatile and that is going through a particularly volatile phase. But people will and I am obliged to do it for a living. That said…

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