UK Housing Shame

Housing conditions in Britain are among the worst in Western Europe and cost the nation about £7bn a year by adding to the pressure on the NHS and other public services, says a major study.

An alliance of housing experts warns that a lack of affordable, decent homes, cuts to local authority housing budgets and the Coalition Government's benefit 'reforms' (cutbacks) are creating "real hardship, misery and ill-health" for some of the country's most vulnerable people.

Almost 4,000 people are sleeping rough on London's streets, an increase of 8 per cent since last year. About half of these are from the UK and the rest from a wide variety of other countries, notably Poland.

Many Libdems campaign on housing issues so this is an issue that may deepen unhapiness within the coalition. At some point the Libdems will notice that they are propping up a government that has not delivered on any progressive promises.

The excuse they gave a year ago was that they could manage the economy, they have not delivered even on that promise. The Libdem conference is soon, lets see how they respond.

Update: Camerons answer, build more houses on marginal land, change planning laws to favour developers. Meanwhile the rich can have as many homes as they like. It just seems so wrong to me that some people have two homes while others are homeless.