🏠 44 Years of Housing Policy & Its Legacy: Chris Williamson

🏠 44 Years of Housing Policy & Its Legacy

44 years ago, Margaret Thatcher’s Tory government introduced the Right to Buy, allowing council tenants to purchase their homes at huge discounts. Just 9 years later, the Tories deregulated the private rented sector. The result? A housing crisis that we are still grappling with today.

🏚 Nye Bevan’s vision for council housing was one of mixed communities, where the doctor, grocer, butcher, and farm labourer all lived on the same street. This sense of community was a hallmark of housing in the 1960s and 70s. Back then, less than 4% of the housing budget was spent subsidising rents, with the majority going into building and maintaining public housing.

💡 Fast forward to today, and 88% of the UK’s housing budget goes into subsidising skyrocketing rents. This is the legacy of neoliberal policies that have left us with a broken housing system.

🏡While the Renters' Rights Bill before Parliament is a step in the right direction, it won’t tackle the core issue: rising rents. We need a return to the sensible housing policies of the 1970s — where housing was affordable for everyone, no matter their income. It’s time to reimagine housing for the future.

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