UK XI: Flirting With The Ex

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/24/ukraine-gets-nothing-in-trumps-proposals-for-peace-says-boris-johnson

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/apr/25/post-office-paid-600m-to-continue-using-bug-ridden-horizon-it-system

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/apr/24/death-by-dangerous-cycling-crime-policing-bill

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/apr/25/robert-jenrick-rules-out-tory-pact-with-reform-uk-nigel-farage

[Nu-Eclipse]

They definitely won't but I'd loosen planning restrictions enough to eventually be spending a few years flooding the market. The pent up demand is propping the prices heavily and if that lessened then price increases would have to slow to keep sales moving. There's just a dire need for the Government to bite the bullet and funnel money hard into core infrastructure and living essentials, otherwise they'll never get traction to fix anything else as demand for everything across the board is far too high for the demand and absolutely nothing anyone ever does about immigration is going to move the needle on it.

None of that solves the housing crisis in this country if any of that new build housing isn't affordable. At best, it will only maintain the status quo because weathly people, both from here and abroad, will swoop in and buy it all like they currently are doing so, this keeping prices sky-high.

[Brad]

The very idea that millions upon millions of people cannot buy a home - not enough homes exist - yet we aren't allowing companies to knock them up left, right and centre is insane. We're actively resisting supply and demand. If you build the homes it's natural that infrastructure will come with it as its literally required. That drives demand in for other services etc locally. But no, we'll just let a limited stock of old houses spiral upward and then sctroke our chins pondering why no growth is flowing in etc.

You speak from a place of logic and common sense, but that's not how it's working.
Borough councils can basically ignore protests from locals if they have not met their quota for new housing. They're like "Yeah, we know this is an awful idea but we have no choice, soz". Infrastructure does not automatically come along for the ride either; developers try to get away with doing as little as possible, including building on land that is known to flood regularly and protests are required from residents to get the council to even look at the effect the new development will have. What does happen though is that affordable housing is always part of any new development as their seems to be no way around that for developers (otherwise I'm sure they wouldn't bother). I say this from experience with our own borough council and multiple development projects over the last 4 years.

[Nu-Eclipse]

You speak from a place of logic and common sense, but that's not how it's working.
Borough councils can basically ignore protests from locals if they have not met their quota for new housing. They're like "Yeah, we know this is an awful idea but we have no choice, soz". Infrastructure does not automatically come along for the ride either; developers try to get away with doing as little as possible, including building on land that is known to flood regularly and protests are required from residents to get the council to even look at the effect the new development will have. What does happen though is that affordable housing is always part of any new development as their seems to be no way around that for developers (otherwise I'm sure they wouldn't bother). I say this from experience with our own borough council and multiple development projects over the last 4 years.

I work for a London Borough Council. I know for a fact that same said developers look to get away with building less and less affordable housing. Sadly, most councils are in on it with them because they've been forced to because they've been starved of central gov't funding for the longest time now (hence why you get situations like Croydon and Birmingham on a regular basis now).

[Neon Ignition]

Which I guess comes back down to requiring Government to steamroll those things through. At some point they'll have to as the consequences are quickly outweighing any short term profit they'd make.

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/virginia-giuffre-who-accused-prince-andrew-of-sexual-assault-has-died-her-family-says-13355731

[charlesr]

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/virgi...-says-13355731

This would have been all day coverage on Sky News.
But instead, it's the pope's funeral.
Coincidence?

[Nu-Eclipse]

Which I guess comes back down to requiring Government to properly fund councils like they should always be doing steamroll those things through. At some point they'll have to as the consequences are quickly outweighing any short term profit they'd make.

Fixed that for you.

[fishbowlhead]

Guys, they will never build houses in the numbers that are needed, never, because too many rich peoples portfolios are linked to the property market, and they wont allow their (investments) to devalue, ever.

[Dogg Thang]

Guys, they will never build houses in the numbers that are needed, never, because too many rich peoples portfolios are linked to the property market, and they wont allow their (investments) to devalue, ever.

This is it in a nutshell. Same where I am. We’ve had a housing crisis for generations. And it’s making a huge amount of MPs very rich.

[Nu-Eclipse]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/27/homelessness-crisis-councils-england-pay-above-market-rent

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.thejournal.ie/graham-linehan-charged-with-harassment-and-criminal-damage-6689084-Apr2025/

[fishbowlhead]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/...ve-market-rent

Theres 2 important questions here,

How many of these properties being rented to migrants at above market rate are owned by MP’s, their friends or are in their family members names. My guess is most of them.

How may of these migrants being housed are fighting age males. My guess is most if not all.

[egparadigm]

https://www.thejournal.ie/graham-lin...89084-Apr2025/

”… the allegations were related to an incident at the Battle of Ideas conference…”

Ironic. 👀

[egparadigm]

How may of these migrants being housed are fighting age males. My guess is most if not all.

You’re guessing, true. But so what? The vast majority are fleeing persecution, even the anti-asylum Home Office grants more than 70% on this basis. The people in HO accommodation would be happy to work and pay rent if permitted to do so. It’s the govt and the existing law that stops them.

It’s also true that people new to the UK tend to work more and claim less in welfare. But you wouldn’t know that from the press, who prefer to demonise the other.

[Hirst]

The “fighting age” thing is utter nonsense in most cases, like people get a choice. I know a guy from Afghanistan who came here some years ago now and we’ve talked about his experiences at some length. He’s never had any reason to lie to me about it.

He lived in a region where the Taliban overthrew the local government and police. Town was locked down with roadblocks, can’t get in or out. Any men of fighting age were forcibly recruited into the Taliban (to gain control of other regions) or shot. You couldn’t just go join the other side locally as they no longer existed, you couldn’t go more than a street or two without a roadblock manned by gunmen. I suppose he could have created some kind of resistance movement, but I doubt the effectiveness of an unarmed teenager with no combat training who can’t leave the house and will inevitably be found when they start going door-to-door anyway.