Housing & Homelessness

Housing and homelessness are two significant issues in the UK, but particularly in London. In London, the average property price is currently just over £1,000,000, and consequently out of reach of average Londoners- let alone Brits in general. House prices are high due to the relative lack of supply compared with huge demand, caused by both a boom in the population size as well as the desire for wealthy foreigners to secure a good investment. Meanwhile, as London properties are snapped up by overseas investors, there are thousands of homeless on London's streets. The two problems have interconnected causes and solutions.

In terms of excessive house prices, the Government has already taken steps by promising to make housebuilding easier to increase supply, and in the meantime sponsors "Help to Buy" initiatives to help buyers in the short-term to pay for the currently high prices. What I think would help is if the Government took steps to limit how many international investors could buy residential properties, so that more would be accessible for Brits trying to get on to the property ladder. At the moment, London is becoming more and more of a city of extremes: out of the reach of the working and middle classes, much of London is only accessible to millionaires or those living in council housing- this situation should be addressed to make London properties more accessible for average Londoners/ Brits, rather than the extremes. Therefore, I would advocate the Government capping the number of non-British passport holders who are able to buy residential properties per year, a cap which could be revised on an annual basis depending on supply and demand. At present, aside from allocated "affordable housing", new housing is apparently being promoted just as much overseas for an investment as it is here as a home, meaning that new housing is currently having a limited impact on the housing problem in this country. Moreover, those purchasing London properties as an investment often leave them empty meaning that, as I said above, Londoners are living on the street while luxurious homes are left empty. 

With regards to London's homelessness, a few years ago I was convinced that it was a relatively simple issue: when it comes to allocating council homes, the homeless should be prioritised over anyone migrating to the UK, following the logic that once everyone who needs the most urgent help here receives it before support is offered to those from elsewhere. However, I am now mindful of the complication to the homeless debate that freedom of movement within the EU brings. When membership only included Western European states, the similar levels of living standards meant that there were no expected floods of migration from one set of states to another. However, once Eastern European countries were admitted, the disparity in wealth between these member states and existing members was stark. Thus, rather than the light, inconspicuous flow of Western Europeans previously experienced, the differences between East and West meant that there was an inevitable flow of Eastern Europeans from East to West, where the greater wealth-creating opportunities were available. This not only stretched resources in Western Europe (a problem appreciated all the more when the economy is vulnerable), and reduced the number of available jobs at a time when unemployment remains a problem in many Western European countries, but also threatened developing Eastern European states with a "brain drain", as their gifted talented seek the opportunities in the West, denying their home states of their talents. 

To hinder this imbalance and (returning to my original point) reduce the numbers of Eastern Europeans without the prospect of jobs and potentially living on the streets arriving in the UK, as in elsewhere in Western Europe, it would help if an agreement across the EU (and maybe the Schengen Area in its entirety as well) stated that Europeans are not permitted to migrate freely to another state unless they have a minimum amount of money in their bank account as proof that they can only make a positive contribution, and in no way hinder, the new state they are arriving in. Measures such as this would help alleviate growing Euroscepticism in the UK and elsewhere in Western Europe- not to mention allow UK lawmakers to do more to reduce the blight of homeless, without having the logistical nightmare of being compelled to house potentially millions of citizens from elsewhere in the EU.

HS2, and how it could put Britain on track to bridge the North-South divide

For years, the British Government has been debating whether to construct a High Speed (HS) train service, linking London in the South; Birmingham in the Midlands; and Manchester and Leeds in the North of England. It is a controversial issue, with critics highlighting the cost of tens of billions of pounds, as well as the fact that many miles of countryside will be spoilt by railway lines crossing through them. However, I personally feel that the benefits would ultimately outweigh the costs over the long term, whilst the "Not In My Back Yard" attitude to so many potential infrastructure investments in Britain such as this is very impractical. We have an ever-expanding population, yet a reluctance to construct new railways and reservoirs to alleviate pressure on the overstretched, existing infrastructure.

With a multitude of drawbacks to being a motorist (from the variety of expenses involved, to the traffic jams and lack of parking spaces), it makes sense to support the railways- a practical way to transport masses of people, avoiding most of the numerous costs and inconveniences of driving, not to mention better for the environment. Meanwhile, the greatest attractions for me are the prospects for economic progress for the regions outside of the South-East of England. A high-speed service from the North and Midlands to the South will give access to the greater potential earnings on offer in London and the Home Counties via an expanded commuter belt, and consequently enhance demand in those areas for housing and boost local economies generally; on the other hand, it would make towns and cities elsewhere in England more attractive for investment, as they would be linked more effectively with the country's other economic centres. This could be a major step towards bridging the gap in wealth and opportunities between the North and South of England and, if successful, could also be used as a model for encouraging greater economic activity elsewhere in the UK, e.g. if HS2 were then be additionally linked to the North-East and South-West of England, Scotland and Wales. My main concern for this project is that ticket prices for the train could be too high to be accessible for ordinary Brits; in which case, the costs and sacrifices would have been in vain and great potential would be wasted.