Find a Tradesman - The Vetted Tradesmen Blog

Nick Clegg - Deal or no Deal?
Well I hope he’s ready for the questions Noel because the banker is on the phone in the form of the Great British Public and we want an answer.
I’ve been on to the Conservative and Labour websites and read their Housing and Construction policies. The put what I think, I’m no Ian Hislop but I hope you found it as enjoyable to read is as I found writing it.
Who to choose Blue or Red?
BLUE - Conservative
“Increase stamp duty threshold to allow nine out of ten first time buyers to pay NO STAMP DUTY.” - This does sound promising but we have to ask how are they going to pay for it, and are they actually going to do it?
“”Abolish Home Info Pack’s.” – BOO! We think HIP’s are a bit of a pain but they do contain some pretty useful info - it’s like getting a user manual for your home which is pretty cool.
“Recognise the importance of social housing and the security it provides. We will protect and respect the rights of social tenants. Many social tenants have great pride in their homes and the neighbourhood in which they live, and deserve to be encouraged” - What a load of tosh! Have you seen a tenancy agreement lately - tenants have so much legal protection already what more could they ask for!
“Introduce a comprehensive national mobility scheme for good tenants who wish to move to other social sector properties, and pilot a Right to Move scheme to allow every family in social housing the chance to relocate by exchanging their home for another one – anywhere in the country.” - This does sound like a great idea in theory but I think it could be quite difficult to structure the evaluation criteria to ensure fairness and I can see some less reputable housing associations simply shipping problematic tenants to other areas.
“Abolish the unelected Infrastructure Planning Commission and restore the discretion of the Secretary of State. National Policy Statements will be ratified by Parliament to speed up the system, and hybrid Bills will be used to authorise complex national projects like high speed rail.” Not really sure what all this babble means if I’m honest, too many big words!
THE RED’s – Labour
“We have announced a £1 billion package of support for homeowners and first time buyers to: Help first time buyers get onto the housing ladder with increased shared equity support; Help homeowners in difficulty; Support the house-building industry; and bring forward £400 million of government spending to deliver up to 5,500 new social rented homes over the next eighteen months.” – Bloody hell Gordon that sounds a bit pricey, with the country skint can we afford this.

“We have extended the stamp duty holiday on properties under £175,000 to the end of 2009.” – Not quite what the Blues are offering but it’s a step in the right direction.

“We have set a goal that from 2016 all new homes should be zero carbon.” – GREAT! This is the best idea yet. We may be going through some economic issues but we still have to live on this planet long after being skint is a distant memory.

“We are putting in place arrangements to allow local authorities and housing associations to start delivering a new generation of social housing.” – This is just generic sales speak, I’d really like to know what the next generation of social housing is and how it differs from this one – are they building spaceships for council estates now!

“In Budget 2009, we announced a £600 million funding package to build more homes through unlocking sites currently sitting dormant.” – No mention of progress on this issue - never a good sign.
The Lib Dems are not exactly making friends in the construction industry at the moment. They propose to add VAT to new homes. People buying new build homes would pay on average an extra £14,119 in VAT alone. That money would not go into the value of the house. We just can’t afford this kind of tax on homes from the Liberal Democrats. With over 8,000 jobs gone in the house building sector since 2008 it just means more people on the breadline!
We just hope that the successful party can get Mr Clegg to reconsider on this point.
As usual all thoughts and comment very welcome.
Speak to you all very soon.
Martin