Lessons will be learnt

A mantra routinely offered by government, quangos, or 'fake' charities, when something goes wrong on their watch - yet it seems lessons have not been learnt.


The Daily Telegraph advises us that David Cameron will today formally open the NewBuy Guarantee scheme, where the Government guarantees part of a homebuyer’s mortgage, allowing them to take out much larger loans than they might otherwise be eligible for. (Emphasis mine)


Politics Home quotes Grant Shapps stating that this isn't going to cost the taxpayer very much money at all, if anything. (Emphasis mine)


Details of the NewBuy Guarantee scheme have been released here.


Even bearing in mind the statement issued by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, one has to ask: is not spending money that you haven't got how people and the last government created problems for themselves and the country? The statement by Shapps beggars belief - of course it will cost the taxpayer initially, whilst the proposal also brings in that element of 'referism', something which I have mentioned previously.


I hope that I am not alone in thinking this proposal a tad stupid?


Just asking........

More 'Government' control/social engineering

The Daily Telegraph reports here and the BBC here on Grant Schapps' idea to ease the housing shortage, a plan that has already had a trial in the London borough of Redbridge. Weirdly, there is no information about this scheme available on the Redbridge council website and on telephoning their press office on 020 8708 3755 I was informed that as it is a pilot scheme they had not produced any information. When querying why a pdf of a press release about the scheme had been found but was, again, not mentioned on their website, I was informed it had been deleted although no reason was given when queried. Reverting to Redbridge council's press office, when pointing out that it seem odd that the DCLG was promoting the scheme on their website, Grant Schapps was plastered over the pages of some newspapers, promoting the scheme, that it seemed odd Redbridge was omitting to mention a scheme being trialled with public money, the press officer to whom I spoke remained silent.


The press release mentioned above can be found by typing freespace redbridge into Google and a link to the pdf will be found. More information on 'Freespace' can be found in a report commissioned by Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC) as part of its Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) – funded FirstStop Advice programme. The Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC) website also refers to an analysis carried out by the Centre for Housing and Planning Research, at the University of Cambridge.


That the 'Freespace' idea can even be considered as worthy of merit is not one with which Shapps would agree because it is yet another idea to 'order' peoples lives through 'friendly persuasion' and another method to solve a problem that 'government' has - one of their own making. It has to be said that one, if not prime, reason for our housing shortage is due to our country being open to Europe, together with his wives and children to walk in and in the process virtually demand to be housed because of their human rights.


It also has to be said that where the 'government' offers to help it is well known that 'help' is the last thing that will be on offer. The 'Freespace' pilot scheme raises other questions such as if 'improvements' are needed to a property which has been 'leased' to the local authority, does the owner have the right to agree to said 'improvements' which the local authority deem necessary? The scheme allows local authorities to carry out maintenance, but who has the right to select those will provide that maintenance, will the most cost-effective quotation be chosen - in fact will estimates for the work be requested? Grant Schapps is quoted as saying "The Government is determined to pull out all the stops to help those who aspire to buy their first home. This includes social housing tenants and we will continue to look at ways to support everyone who wants to get on the property ladder". And the exact definition of 'social housing' is? Will those tenants of the 'Freespace' scheme be considered as 'social housing tenants? Will they be allowed to purchase at a discounted price and if so, will the local authority make up the shortfall twixt that price and the 'market price'? Anna Raccoon has what some may term a slightly cynical view of this scheme.


As with most government schemes, especially any involving Grant Schapps, this is another example of a half-arsed idea which does not appear to have been 'thought through' - but hey, the Lib/Lab/Con are all socialists now.




Afterthought: Some Sheltered Housing complexes are being changed to allow for 'Extra Care' - which provides the facilities and care that is provided by/in Care Homes - so it is reasonable to assume this is being done to alleviate the shortage of Care Homes. If this supposition is correct then we have another half-arsed scheme because unless more Sheltered Housing is built logically there will be a shortfall there.

Kirkup or (journalistic) 'Kockup'

James Kirkup, writing in the Daily Telegraph, in a blatant attempt to 'big-up' the comment piece by Caroline Spelman, pens that Spelman pledges that farmers, rural businesses and residents will get a “hotline straight to the heart of Government” allowing them to raise concerns with ministers directly. As can be seen, what Spelman actually wrote was that she is creating a rural hotline straight to the heart of Government through 14 Rural and Farming Networks; that this is a new way of working; that these networks will give rural business and community leaders a direct link to her and her team to tell them their problems so they can find ways to help. So Kirkup, where exactly does the word "residents" occur in Spelman's article? 


In effect all Spelman has done is to create a direct communication channel between central government and its acolytes within local government and 'stakeholders' on how the latter can implement central government diktats and how to pass these off to the public as 'localism'. Where local 'problems' exist and are at variance with national policies, it is perhaps pertinent to repeat that which my Member of Parliament - who also happens to be the nation's Prime Minister - informed me at a constituency surgery, namely that where local policy, or local 'requirements', conflict with national policy, national policy will reign supreme - a comment which prompted my rejoinder that that is the constituents of Witney disenfranchised then. It is also disingenuous of Spelman to say that direct contact with ministers by real people with real practical knowledge will benefit those people - as I found out to my cost when I was granted an audience with Grant Shapps!


On the subject of farmers and farming, it is again disingenuous of Spelman to intimate that their industry can be 'improved', or 'helped', when farmers are constrained by the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which in effect dictates what can be produced, at what price and how farming is organised - matters over which Spelman has little, if any, control.


All the foregoing underlines that we do not have 'democracy' per se - we have democratised dictatorship, one dictated at every level by our nation's membership of the European Union.


Just saying.......................

Ministers 'know nothing'

So asserts Mike Slade, the chief executive of Helical Bar and chairman of the Conservative Property Forum, whilst also describing Grant Shapps, the housing minister, as a “kid”.

It is a tad unfair of Mike Slade to single out Grant Shapps - although I heartily concur in that having met Shapps, I am of the opinion that besides being a 'kid', the man is an idiot - although unlike those in Brussels, Shapps is at least 'home-grown' and did manage to achieve the educational heights of an HND (Higher Natural Dipstick) obtained at Manchester Polytechnic - now up-graded to Manchester Metropolitan University.

But to highlight Shapps is as I say unfair, especially when he could have also included Cameron, Grayling, Clarke, Hammond - oh forget it, the whole bloody lot that dictate to us in the name of 'democracy'.

Once again, just saying....................