News0 min ago
Corbyn Promises Homes For The Homeless
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Let's assume for the sake of the argument that Corbyn could produce the money for this fanciful idea and take into public ownership 8000 houses for the homeless - if I was one of the many 1000s of people/ families who have been patiently sitting on the council house waiting list, I'd be mightily peeved about Corbyn's largesse.
07:51 Mon 29th Jan 2018
Let's assume for the sake of the argument that Corbyn could produce the money for this fanciful idea and take into public ownership 8000 houses for the homeless - if I was one of the many 1000s of people/families who have been patiently sitting on the council house waiting list, I'd be mightily peeved about Corbyn's largesse.
Corbyn is referring to rough sleepers here rather than all homeless (there are plenty more people who end up homeless and either couch surf or sleep in their cars or something similar). Falling under the technical definition of "homeless", that situation covers some 250,000 people according to shelter. There is a rough sleeper population of typically a few hundred in every major city, and that is considered quite high.
So it's actually a very targeted solution to a specific problem in big cities. It's not pie in the sky at all.
Also while I'm here, to insist that rough sleepers are "homeless by choice" is a bit of a sick fantasy. It's so disingenuous so as not to be worth arguing about. It's plainly the fantasy of someone who desperately, desperately wants to believe that we live in a perfect meritocracy where everybody gets exactly their just rewards based on how hard they work. This is plainly not how society functions.
So it's actually a very targeted solution to a specific problem in big cities. It's not pie in the sky at all.
Also while I'm here, to insist that rough sleepers are "homeless by choice" is a bit of a sick fantasy. It's so disingenuous so as not to be worth arguing about. It's plainly the fantasy of someone who desperately, desperately wants to believe that we live in a perfect meritocracy where everybody gets exactly their just rewards based on how hard they work. This is plainly not how society functions.
https:/ /www.ho meless. org.uk/ facts/h omeless ness-in -number s/rough -sleepi ng/roug h-sleep ing-exp lore-da ta
Looking at the figures above, this would in practice mean housing for fewer than 80 people per region (with the exception of Westminster, Brighton and Cornwall). This is hardly going to devastate the property market.
Rough sleeping is, furthermore, something that only the government really has the ability to do anything about. Charities like St. Mungo's or the Castle Project cannot command the resources to run property - certainly not to increase the limited accommodation they already have - in anything like the required numbers, however excellent those services are. Private philanthropists are also not forthcoming on the issue, so there isn't really another alternative but to a) let rough sleepers continue living on the street or b) have the government do something.
Looking at the figures above, this would in practice mean housing for fewer than 80 people per region (with the exception of Westminster, Brighton and Cornwall). This is hardly going to devastate the property market.
Rough sleeping is, furthermore, something that only the government really has the ability to do anything about. Charities like St. Mungo's or the Castle Project cannot command the resources to run property - certainly not to increase the limited accommodation they already have - in anything like the required numbers, however excellent those services are. Private philanthropists are also not forthcoming on the issue, so there isn't really another alternative but to a) let rough sleepers continue living on the street or b) have the government do something.
Theis is a real problem that doesn't seem to have any easy answers. Maybe the starting point should be to provide hostel type accommodation- it would be interesting to see how many of the homeless take up offers and start to turn their lives around. Providing homes could well make the problem worse as it would encourage those who are currently couch surfing or struggling to pay rent deliberately going on the streets in the hope of getting new accommodation
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