I have been frustrated, but unsurprised, by the unfounded rhetoric by some opposition politicians to the Planning White Paper.
Pledges on housing and the environment were abandoned. The Labour Group became embroiled in bullying and anti-semitism.
As Conservatives, we cannot, and should not, forget or ignore the necessity for a safety net; for good quality social housing that people enjoy living in.
It needs a clear prevention strategy in place by year-end, to provide a clear framework for local councils, and to roll out the Housing First Programme.
This is about basic fairness, and people on lower incomes deserving the same chance to get on the housing ladder.
Why shouldn’t councils build the homes needed? We can re-enter the market, using low costs of capital to borrow, and cut out the middleman.
If there is to be any positive legacy from the Grenfell fire, it must be that our building and fire safety regime is state of the art.
Limiting councils’ discretion could lead to a lot of fuss for little real change. The real problem is a geographically unbalanced economy.
Cut out the middleman. Go straight to the people who want to build – and help people who want to buy their home.
The planning system is very tricky to navigate. That is good for lawyers – but bad for those wanting a good home to live in.
Change the rules so there is a right to use the discount to buy a property in the private sector – not the home the tenant occupies.
To keep the economy functioning, it must be affordable for some in relatively low-paid jobs to live in central London.
We need to build a new generation of high quality, beautiful, green, affordable homes for people to rent and buy.
By using the new grant as an incentiv those who are looking to buy would be more likely to buy a new build, enabling supply to continue.
When Crisis is saying the same thing as the Centre for Social Justice and ourselves at the Adam Smith Institute, politicians should listen.