Patrick, thank you for that introduction.

It’s good to be with you this evening.

Along with Alison Seabeck, our shadow housing minister, I am leading our review of housing policy.

The review is wide-ranging, looking at all tenure types, and housing across people’s lifetimes, as well as issues like planning and land supply, and design and quality.

I don’t pretend that we have all the answers yet.

We start with where we left office: our social housing stock in its best shape for decades, higher levels of home ownership, a proper house building programme and new options of shared and low cost ownership piloted through various housing associations. 

But I accept that housing wasn’t enough of a priority for us, especially early on. As councillors and MPs we saw that for ourselves at our surgeries.

Not enough homes were built. There are reasons why we didn’t do more. The scale of the maintenance backlog we inherited in 1997 was rightly a focus for our attention – and our resources.

Waiting lists for social housing rose, sharply in some places. And the scarcity of good social homes engendered a sense of unfairness in the way they were allocated.

For too long, and in too many places, our housing policy was too divorced from our attempts to create communities that people want to live in and feel proud of.

But, having said all of that, our record is better than many of our critics are prepared to give us credit for.

Within the first week of being appointed to this job, amongst much unsolicited correspondence, I received a letter from a gentleman.

With his letter were 2 photos of the estate where he lives, which I have with me this evening.

1 was from just before the election in 1997.

A scene of devastation. Windows boarded up. Doors kicked in. Fly-tipping scarring a barren, bleak landscape. So bad that it’s difficult to imagine anyone actually living there. But as his letter attests to, people did.

The second photo shows the same estate – but a decade later.

A landscape utterly transformed.

The high rise estates – gone. A scene of modern, well-designed family homes – with front gardens.

The man wrote to tell me that whatever the current Government said about our record on housing, he hadn’t forgotten what Labour had achieved.

And if he can write to me, with such pride in his home and his community, then we, too, can be proud of what we achieved for him, and people like him, right across the country and in every constituency.

And in fact, the chance to look afresh at Labour’s housing policy, and the opportunity to really engage with the party, with housing, planning and design professionals, and, most importantly, with the public, is welcome.

But even at this stage of the review, our ambition is clear: everyone should be able to access a decent home, in a place they want to live, at a price within their means.

And our commitment to supporting successful, safe and sustainable communities where people are able to lead happy, healthy lives and contribute to their local community is enduring.

Tonight I want to sketch out our direction of travel.

The scale of the challenge is not to be underestimated.

Twenty years ago, two thirds of 25-34 year olds owned their home. Today, the figure is less than half.

The average age of a first time buyer, without help from their parents, is 37, and some forecasts suggest it could rise to mid-forties by the end of this decade.

The number of first time buyers is at its lowest level for 40 years.

But despite all of this, the ambition to own a home is as strong as ever. And people must know that Labour will always support those who aspire to own their own home.

The other side of the coin, though, is an ageing society. The number of people over 85 in the UK is predicted to double in the next 25 years and to treble in the next 35.

Good housing promotes independence and empowers people to live active, fulfilling, and healthy lives. But a range of options are needed to enable older people looking to downsize, release equity to pay for care, or access other services.

Whether it’s first-time buyers, second steppers or people looking to their retirement, the fundamental issues of planning, supply and finance are never far away.

We all know that more land will need to be released for development if housing supply is to increase. But how do we create a planning system which respects the views of local communities, while ensuring we can build the homes, the workplaces and jobs for the future?
Once the land has been released, who builds homes? What’s stopping them from building more?

And on finance, we know that the prospects of the housing market are closely linked to the wider economy, and that our construction industry is vital for supporting jobs and growth?

So how do we balance a prudent approach to mortgage lending with a market that enables people to buy their own homes? What can we learn from councils like Sunderland that underwrite mortgages?

And why is it more difficult for people to get a mortgage to renovate an old property, than to buy a new one? 

The reality though, is that, notwithstanding our commitment to support home ownership, more people will be living in the private rented sector, at some point in their lives.

The century-long trend away from renting and towards ownership is in reverse and our review must deal with the world as we find it, not as we would like it to be.

Most people living in the Private Rented Sector are happy with their home.

Many enjoy the freedom it offers.

And most landlords are responsible. They look after their properties and their tenants.

But there is a problem, especially at the bottom end of the market, with a small number of rogue landlords, who exploit their tenants and fail to meet their responsibilities.

And we must be unafraid of tackling bad landlords.

After all, most good landlords themselves support sensible regulation.

And the Government’s excuses for its failure to regulate the Private Rented Sector cut no ice.

Because, as we had begun to show at the end of our time in Government with preparation for a national register of landlords, it is possible to create a light-touch regulation system that’s good for responsible landlords, that’s good for responsible tenants and that avoids unnecessary red-tape and bureaucracy.

Some local authorities are already looking to do this themselves – I know this is something that Harrow is working on, for instance.

We’re also looking at how we can encourage more institutional investment in the Private Rented Sector, and at tenure, so that if people are spending longer in the private rented sector, they can do so with the security that’s needed to raise a family and contribute to the community. 

On social housing too, we’re beginning to sketch out a radical agenda for reform.

But it will be reform that encourages employment, supports families and helps to create strong communities where people feel safe.

Simply abolishing secure tenancies and kicking new tenants out of their homes when they get a promotion or a pay rise, as the Government is doing, creates fear and uncertainty, disrupts family life and provides a disincentive to work.

No government should aspire to that.

Last week, Ed Miliband made a powerful case for building a greater sense of responsibility in our country.

As Ed himself has said, we will be a party that rewards contribution, not worklessness.

Nowhere should that be truer than in social housing.

No one questions that social housing is fundamental to a decent, civilised society, and it must always be there for those in need.

But our ambitions for social housing, and for the people who live there, must be more than just a last chance saloon.

If we are to prove to people that their sense of fairness is the same as ours, we must reform social housing so that it genuinely rewards people who are responsible, who work hard, play by the rules and give something back, as well as protecting those in need.

In fact, that’s exactly what some Labour councils are already doing.

In Newham, they’re looking at how they can use social housing to support people into work and encourage employment.

In Manchester, too, as well as helping the most vulnerable with housing, they give priority to those who contribute to their communities – by volunteering, for instance.

Their system rewards good tenants and good neighbours

It’s fairer because it looks not just at what people receive, but also at what they put in. And it also encourages the kind of responsible behaviour which makes our communities stronger and safer. 

Even if housing doesn’t always top the list of priorities in the opinion polls, we know how important it is.

It’s about more than a roof over someone’s head.

It’s about how we empower people and communities.

It’s fundamental to the people’s health, to their education, to their chances in the job market, as well to their sense of well-being, and the health of their finances.

It’s the building block for the kind of neighbourhoods and communities people want to live in.

In Government we started to look at community land trusts and co-operative housing models.

That’s something I keen to return to in our review, and which Michael will hopefully be able to say a little more this evening.

We will be open about where we’ve fallen short in the past.

We will expose this Government for their failings – and believe me, on their present policies they will fail.

But we will also set out our own positive vision for housing in Britain in the twenty first century. One in which we will provide for both the ambitions and security people want.

Thank you.

 

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Photo: Sara Richards