2024 Election thread

But short of government diktat, surely that's the only escape route, isn't it? It's been decades in the making, and it's going to take decades to undo, short of a house price crash, which would have massive repercussions, from security on loans to pension funds.

I know that's not cheering news, and it's definitely not me trying to defend what is a very unfortunate situation for those at the wrong end of it.

Maggie opened the bottle. People want to own, if they can afford it and are settled. Rental prices are linked to house values, unless rental constraints are introduced. Which would probably mean rental houses being sold to ownership.

I'm not happy with the situation, just looking at the bigger picture.

The increase from immigration is pretty trivial relative to the overall population. And as I've said, stopping that immigration has significant negative consequences.

Local authorities can and do build housing. They just need to do more. The state very much does build, owns land and has the authority to buy more through compulsory purchase if necessary. It has set the targets for private and public housebuilding and continues to do so. It's just that a combination of weak enforcement and a broken planning system mean that the target has been missed every year. Add in opportunist politicians jumping on the nimby bandwagon for a bit of cheap publicity.

I am being realistic. EU workers used to come over here young fit and healthy. They were net contributors as they were taking nothing out

The biggest uplift is in visas for dependents. That is Govt policy.

Reform of the planning system is a pretty material consideration to me; not just a 'hobby horse'. It's also a bit more relevant than dribbling on about immigration.

Fair point - in my view that needs looking at.

I realise that it's a point you want to stick your head in the sand about, but it needs addressing and it appears that the majority of the electorate think so as well. As luck would have it, some wag in the Torygraph has come up with a solution which you should like as former Bristolian and a centre leftie:

"At last, a simple solution to the Tories’ immigration woes

According to a major new poll, the people of almost every parliamentary constituency in Britain want immigration to be reduced. A fascinating exception, however, is Bristol Central. This is a new constituency, created in the recent boundary changes to replace Bristol West, one of the most Left-wing and most pro-EU seats in the country. And in Bristol Central, a clear majority of those polled said that immigration actually isn’t high enough. They want it to be even higher.

Such a result may seem somewhat disconcerting. For Tory ministers, though, it’s wonderful news. This week they were planning another doomed attempt to send immigrants to Rwanda. But now they needn’t bother – because there’s an alternative that’s simpler, cheaper, and perfectly legal.

They can send the immigrants to Bristol Central, instead.

Problem solved. Then again, perhaps this approach doesn’t go far enough. After all, the poll makes clear that people in most constituencies want all forms of immigration to fall, not just the one that involves small boats. The progressives of Bristol Central, meanwhile, evidently want all forms of immigration to increase.

Thankfully, the answer is obvious. Each year, all 750,000 or so new arrivals to this country should be given a warm welcome, and presented with free train tickets to Bristol Temple Meads.

It’s the perfect solution. The Corbynites of Bristol Central get more immigration, just as they wanted. The people of the rest of Britain get less immigration, just as they wanted. The immigrants themselves get to live somewhere in Britain, just as they wanted. And at the same time, the total volume of immigration to Britain doesn’t actually fall. So our political class will be happy, too."

😄

I guess you still dont want to deal with it 😉

Here's the UK population graph.

19th century boom; WW1; WW2; baby boom; post boom slowing of growth. Near enough a straight line until 2010 when something changed. 🧐

If you're telling me the whole problem is immigration, who is responsible for that?

Who hands out visas?

What on earth makes you think they would change direction now after 14 years?

It looks like a good old World War is the best solution for population growth. Better still if conscription is done on an oldest first basis. Just need to ask the enemy nicely not to damage our current housing stock though (although it could create some decent Brownfield sites).