Skip to content

Fake charity mistake of the day

But Roger Harding, head of policy for Shelter England, insists that empty homes are only a part of the solution to the country\’s housing shortage: \”You have to remember that we have about 5 million people who are waiting for council house accommodation. That is the issue we need to address.\”

I\’m willing to believe that there are 5 million people on council house waiting lists, yes. But not that there are 5 million requiring a council house.

Given that the subsidy to (to take an extreme case) a three bedroom council house in Westminster is £20,000 a year or so that 5 million number actually looks low.

Who wouldn\’t put their name on a list for the chance of, however remote, £20k a year?

What we have is a large number of people who would like a government handout, not necessarily a large number of people who need housing.

1 thought on “Fake charity mistake of the day”

  1. Yes, the Westminster thing is an extreme case, but why do people say that getting a council house is like getting a government handout? Social rents more than cover the running costs so they cost the taxpayer nothing.

    Or, to put it another way, a Home-Owner-Ist salivates over the £10,000 a year that his house is going up in value (as if somehow wealth has been magically created, it has not, it has been destroyed) and that’s supposed to be normal and respectable, BUT if somebody gets a council house and saves £5,000 a year in rent (compared to hugely subsidised private rental sector rents) then he is a scrounger?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *