Editorial The escalating conflict in the Middle East following the attack on Iran threatens to return Britain to the kind of economic stress it last encountered in the 1970s — rising energy prices, squeezed living standards, and a working class searching for political leadership that speaks directly to its situation. In this context, Clive Lewis's … Continue reading The Iranian Debacle – A Moment of Opportunity?
right to buy
The price of houses—How everyone speculates on house price inflation
Catherine Dunlop A book called ‘The Asset Society’ claims that what defines class now is not the relationship between employer and employee (labour), but the relationship of the person to assets. The claim is that although there are vast differences in the quantity of assets held (one house or thousands of acres), any asset owner is … Continue reading The price of houses—How everyone speculates on house price inflation
Historical trends and the NHS
Labour Affairs (The image above shows an ad for the privatisation of British Gas in 1986) We can look at the question of the NHS through historical trends. Since Thatcher, trends have taken three directions. One towards a small state and a greater part played by the private sector. The second is the principle that … Continue reading Historical trends and the NHS
Red Vienna
Housing in Red Vienna and the question of reform v. revolution Eamon Dyas Although the phenomenon that is usually referred to as “Red Vienna” began with the election of the Social Democrats to the City Council in May 1919 the legacy of that phenomenon can be dated to the imposition of the taxation system introduced … Continue reading Red Vienna
Politics, the State and the Market in Land
LABOUR AND HOUSING – Part 10. Politics, the State and the Market in Land By Eamon Dyas A core component of the post-war political delineation between Labour and Conservative policies was formed around the question of the relationship of the State to the market. Ever since the foundation of the Labour Party this had been … Continue reading Politics, the State and the Market in Land
Labour and Housing, Part 8
Public rights and private land By Eamon Dyas In the previous instalment of this series I looked at the way in which the policies of the Thatcher government on housing revealed an ambition to go beyond the “Right to Buy” arrangements initiated in 1979. It was apparent from the context of those policies that Tory … Continue reading Labour and Housing, Part 8
The Destruction of Local Authorities as Housing Providers
LABOUR AND HOUSING – Part 7. The destruction of local authorities as housing providers. By Eamon Dyas Determining the economic discourse. The previous article in this series showed how building societies and banks were incapable of supplying mortgages on the scale required by the Tory Government’s 1979 Right to Buy scheme. It explained how local councils … Continue reading The Destruction of Local Authorities as Housing Providers
Labour and Housing
Labour and Housing – Part 6. The financial implications of the Right to Buy scheme By Eamon Dyas The Thatcher legacy that began as practical policies in 1979 and which continues to permeate British politics was based on a strategy consisting of three components. Firstly, the oft-repeated mantra of the need to roll back the … Continue reading Labour and Housing
Labour and the Housing Crisis – Part 5
Council House Sales – the Financial Dilemma By Eamon Dyas It is generally accepted that the 1980 Housing Act represented the greatest shift in public housing policy since the Second World War. Michael Heseltine, the environment minister in the Conservative Government at the time, described it as a social revolution. In the sense that it … Continue reading Labour and the Housing Crisis – Part 5
Labour and the housing crisis – Part 4.
Opposition to the Tory attack on council housing By Eamon Dyas The Right to Buy policy instigated by legislation in 1980 became the foundation on which the housing policies of successive governments over the past 40-odd years have evolved. But it is important to understand that this did not happen because of any organic evolution … Continue reading Labour and the housing crisis – Part 4.
Labour and the Housing Crisis – Part 3.
Council housing, the welfare state and local democracy By Eamon Dyas “The Welfare State is a form of government in which the state protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of the citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for citizens unable to avail themselves of … Continue reading Labour and the Housing Crisis – Part 3.
Labour and the Housing Crisis – part 2.
As far as Thatcher was concerned, the problem for Britain was that the citizen had become too far separated from the operation of the market. This separation had created a gap that had been filled by the influence of the trade unionism and socialistic thinking that was responsible for the descent into the anarchy of the trade union power of the 1970s.
Labour Affairs 