EU and UK politics [OT]

[Chrkeller]

LurkerJ said:

RolStoppable said:

You mean the net effect of all the current Labour policies. They've been in charge for a little over a month now, so them fixing, what, 15 years of conservative leadership in such a short time is not realistic. Maybe they do suck and won't do anything beyond what they have now during the next five years, but it's pretty early to go all-in on the doom and expect a net negative. On the other hand, fixing this crisis altogether within five years certainly does sound like a fantasy, and if anyone says that it can be done after all the damage the Tories have done, then I agree with you that it is a pipedream.

The situation in the UK reminds me of Germany where rents aren't under control either and the government's targets to build new spaces are a pipedream too; Germany's problem is the result of government decisions that date back around 30 years and have never been addressed properly. What's the case in Germany is that the current government is a coalition where one party blocks new taxes altogether, but Labour in the UK should have much better conditions than that. So that's that. But either way, I'd say the government has to build at a rapid pace for at least two decades before things get back in order.

I don't expect anybody to fix the Tories legacy in 5 or even 10 years, mind you, when it comes to housing, Tony Blaire's Labour legacy was terrible as well, in his first 10 years, less was spent on housing than the tories before him, this changed during the old Labour third term but the global financial market crisis crushed their little-too-late-plans, the previous Labour famously went through 9 housing ministers expecting them to solve the problem without increased investments or controlling demand. 

I am not judging the new Labour based on what they've done in their first month, but based on their 5-year housing plan presented to us, it isn't going to move the needle at all because we know what is the number of houses required, the numbers tell us their plan is inadequate, if you can't fix the supply and have no intention to tweak the demand, the problem will worsen. 

I like what Labour is doing with rails and energy, and healthcare, I'll take them over the tories any day of the week, but the housing market is so messed up that any wage rise or reduced energy bills are immediately erased by the rising rents and mortgages, If I sound like doom and gloom, it's because unfortunately that's where the country is when it comes to housing. My mates rarely celebrate a raise or a bonus, it's going to be chipped at the next day. I sincerely hope they tax the rich harder and invest in more housing and we get more ambitious plans during their first term. 

UK housing costs blows my mind.  The house we rented was valued at 495k pounds, which is 600k USD...  that same house in mid-west or southern US would be at most 250k USD.  There are some very expensive states, but in the mid-west and south, 600k buys a mansion not a tiny little dwelling.