Friday 24 August 2012

Maybe The Problem Isn’t ‘Too Few Houses’, But ‘Too Many People’?

Ian Birrell takes out an onion for those breeding themselves out of their living spaces:
As so often with housing, this is sticking plaster politics – dealing with symptoms rather than cause. Be under no illusion as to the scale of the crisis: there are said to be 5 million people waiting on registers, but well under half the number of new homes we need being built.
This is ruining life for countless families, squashed into inadequate properties, and paralysing possibilities for a generation in their 20s. It will get worse: last month's census figures revealed not just a growing population but a baby boom.
/facepalm

If we are assuming that the same portion of society that is having their life ‘ruined’ by inadequate housing is also responsible for the baby boom, then I’m afraid my sympathy well is well and truly tapped out….

But what to do about our ‘growing population’ (other than to completely avoid any examination of which sector it is that’s growing)?
Despite mostly living in urban areas, Britons adore the bucolic vision of their green and pleasant land, as displayed to the world in Danny Boyle's Olympic opening. Many foreign visitors commented on the lovely touch of wildflower meadows by the stadiums. But while surveys show most voters think more than two-thirds of their country's surface area has been concreted over, an idea promoted by campaigning green groups, less than one-tenth of England is in urban development and almost half this is gardens and parks.
And…frankly, that’s enough. But not for Birrell, clearly.

This is a thorn in his side, a puzzle that must be solved. The answer will no doubt gladden Tim Worstall’s and Mark Wadsworth’s hearts…
If we want to resuscitate the moribund economy, we must recognise the impact of our anachronistic planning laws.
Ahhh, yes. If we just build more and more houses, everything’ll be rosy!
There is a very obvious solution staring us in the face. Nearly half of England's land is protected. This includes wonderful national parks and important sites of special scientific interest. But the majority is green belt, that sanctified stuff of suburban dreams.
It is time to start building on this misnamed land that is constricting our economic – and often environmental – needs.
Yes! To save our environment, we must concrete it over!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Julia, of all the bloggers that bore our socks off constantly reiterating, you are the one who depresses me most. Truly, you must be so miserable.

A little story. I used to know a girl when I was at university many years ago. I was a middle class twit and she was a working class girl who didn't want to identify with her roots. At all. She reminds me of you. She went from being a Young Conservative to being a leading light of the left. I think she got wise but it doesn't sit well with me.

All those years ago she had a problem. A strong regional accent and a load of snobbish, sneering middle-class twits. So she changed completely. I think she is happy but I know that she has no political conviction.

That's you Julia. A clever, working class girl, batting for the wrong side and still poor. Always poor.




Anonymous said...

Anonymous, you remind me of the kid at school and who reeked of stale piss. That's you anonymous. Still stinking of stale piss. (See, by prefix my insults with "you remind me of" it somehow makes it valid, rather than just insults hurled at someone you know little or nothing about. Nice tactic, I shall use it often.)

Robert the Biker said...

If, perhaps, we didn't open the doors of our finite island to every third world con artist and malingerer and their fourteen hangers on, we would have a bit more space. This country is fine at about 45 million people, it is a nightmare with 65 mil.

Anonymous said...

Bunny

There are no sides to bat for, there are people doing their best for themselves and their families and there are the parasites.

The current politics are so removed from the realities of life as to be a joke, just self serving parasites.

On Robert's theme, I was in the passport queue at the airport in Kiev and there was about 500 Turkmeni students in the queue in front of our plane. No paper work and they didn't get through, it isn't difficult. One bloke brought his family on a single person visa, they didn't get through either.

Simple problem too many people, Bernie Grant suggested offering people bonuses to go home. Now if I could only convince them that they need to give me a big bonus and a chateau in the South of France....

ivan said...

Robert, the other thing that would help is that none of the incomers get any handouts until they have paid into the system for 10 years.

It would also help if the payments for children for the local layabouts stopped at the first child.

Anonymous said...

"batting for the wrong side".
Hehe, Julia I didn't have you down as a lezza and a poor lezza at that.

"I used to know a girl when I was at university many years ago. I was a middle class twit and she was a working class girl who didn't want to identify with her roots."
Wow that's a bit upstairs downstairs isn't it. You should display your working class roots for all to see, affect a strong regional accent and vote labour with conviction, because a self confessed wealthy middle class twit tells you to.
Oh and whilst you're at it stop boring us with these blogs. I find myself inexplicably drawn here to be bored daily and it's just not on.

Jog on Fauntleroy... identifiably working class enough for you?

hegbert said...

Ian Birrell is also an enthusiast for continuing mass immigration, and he seems to think that every immigrant is a potential brain surgeon or aerospace engineer.

So obviously more accommodation needs to be created for all these MIT graduates who are pouring into the country.

Perhaps Birrell will draw comfort from recent spate of news stories about those enterprising Asian landlords in London boroughs like Brent and Hounslow.

They're the ones bravely defying those fuddy-duddy building control regulations to house the Frank Whittles and Alan Turings of the future by converting garden sheds and garages into makeshift dwellings for rent.

SadButMadLad said...

Yep, time to concrete over the land. But only 1% of it really. And even then most of that 1% will be gardens etc.

JuliaM said...

"...of all the bloggers that bore our socks off constantly reiterating..."

How would you know that....unless you obsessively visit each day?

"This country is fine at about 45 million people, it is a nightmare with 65 mil."

Spot on!

"Hehe, Julia I didn't have you down as a lezza and a poor lezza at that."

I suspect poor anon up there is unaware of the other meaning... ;)

" But only 1% of it really. And even then most of that 1% will be gardens etc."

It's still too much. I prefer the gardens to the increase in population.

Anonymous said...

Jules, my love, I don't need to visit everyday. Nothing changes to the extent that you can tune in weeks later and it's all more of the same.

Have you got some classy supporters. Oh yeah! Gave me a good laugh though.

The Meissen Bison said...

Have you got some classy supporters. Oh yeah! Gave me a good laugh though.

So not bored then?

Anonymous said...

The answer to the population problem is simple.
Given that a working population is essential, the part of the population not working can be "euthanased" to solve the problem.
The largest non-working element are the pensioners.
They also take a large part of the benefits, and healthcare.

John