2015 UK General Election

[superfrank]

Euler, I agree that the UK needs the money coming in but that (often hot) money has created a ridiculous bubble in London property that cannot be sustained over the long term. They'll be no one left able to pay the stupid rents (I left London because of that) and the thing will likely implode as investors get out when prices stop rising.

[Euler]

Ultimately that's a problem for the Asian speculators though?

I think the answer is more housing rather than rent controls. I sympathise with people unable to rent at a reasonable price. Pretty sure the market will self correct. There seems to be a billion apartments being built at the moment.

[superfrank]

don't think it is just a problem for speculators - the UK housing market has been blow up to the point where it has become "too big to fail", hence constant new policies to attract new entrants in the market with ever greater debt (loads now underwritten by govt) to keep it going.

if it tanks it takes the banks and UK economy with it; note the initial responses to the financial crisis (a myriad of govt schemes to support prices).

fewer people, more houses and less debt is surely the solution (but it won't happen!).

you wouldn't need rent controls or any other stupid schemes if they just left the market alone, but they are so wedded to rising prices they can't help meddling.

[Groovyelms]

Again Milliband and the team come up with another ridiculas proposal to controll market forces. The property market is the the property market. Prices whave gone crazy reason because people want to live here: is this a wellcome or unwellcome variety of imigration?
I know that this trivial but a comment from someone writting on socialist media said "Milliband has a very odd way of speaking" I never could take him seriously at the start of this campaign, but as it goes on he looks more and more like an amusing cartoon, constantly going on about the ordinary working people of this country! exactly who are these people?
Obviuosly not an entrepeneur earning over £150,000.00 per year and exporting accross the globe and employing a large local workforce.....
God I dread the prospect of him in some sort of power with Alex Salmond and all the other baying extremists, realizing that finally their day in the sun arrived....

Concerned voter of Brighton Pavillion Ward (currently green)

[superfrank]

God I dread the prospect of him in some sort of power with Alex Salmond and all the other baying extremists, realizing that finally their day in the sun arrived....

Concerned voter of Brighton Pavillion Ward (currently green)

Ha ha, Brighton, ruled by the fascist left wanting to ban racing!

If Miliband gets in the Tories will have only themselves to blame imho - Miliband is the modern equivalent of Michael Foot and if they can't beat him then they've had it.

The Conservatives should have positioned themselves as true champions of ordinary working people (Labour + the Lib Dems certainly don't represent them anymore), but they just can't help giving tax cuts to millionaires and obsessing over inheritance tax for million £ houses - political suicide. Also still fudging Europe and done sod all about immigration (cos big business likes cheap labour). Bl00dy idiots.

[Archangel]

Idont think people realise what a disaster it would be for the UK to leave the EU economically. its easy retoric for the right wing to blame Europe for all the problems, and immigrants. Immigrants didnt cause the financial crash and recession. in fact it was when banks were left to 'self regulate'. and its going to happen again and again

[superfrank]

Idont think people realise what a disaster it would be for the UK to leave the EU economically. its easy retoric for the right wing to blame Europe for all the problems, and immigrants. Immigrants didnt cause the financial crash and recession. in fact it was when banks were left to 'self regulate'. and its going to happen again and again

agree re banks, they'd sell their grandmothers, but where's the justification for the economic disaster if leaving the EU? Britain pays £53m a day into the EU.
Norway and Switzerland manage just fine outside.
The EU exports more to the UK than we do to the EU so all the trade crap is just scaremongering.
IMHO we should at least have a vote on it (my preference is withdrawal but if a majority vote to stay in then we should adopt the Euro; the current situation is daft as Europe is slowing moving towards fiscal union and you've either got to be in or out).

[Naffman]

I have become to hate Miliband even more after this - http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/04 ... amophobia/

I think I would attend EDL rally's if he were to do this. Just please for god's (pun not intended) sake vote for Cameron

[tweebie1999]

Red Milliband is an old fashioned socialist, the kind we saw shaft the country in the 70's. His promise to meddle in the private housing market by capping rent increases is an intervention in market forces which we haven't had in this country since the 70's.

If any interventionism is needed it is to decentralise the UK. There is plenty of room in the rest of the country to build a lot of houses. The reason the South East is unaffordable is that it is full.For example why build a third runway at Heathrow or as Boris wants build an airport on the Thames estuary? If you ask an American if he thinks Birmingham is a long way from London you will get a strange look. Birmingham Airport is only at 60% capacity. The argument is that airlines wont fly there. They will if they are told to!

Why not move parliament to Birmingham or Leeds (both have fine airports)? Why not move all the BBC to Nottingham (has an airport and is very central)? When Wembley was rebuilt, why was it built in a fairly inaccessible place for the rest of the country? Why wasn't it built next to the M1 around Northampton or Leicester in a field where they could have provided masses of parking. Have you seen where they park at Wembley? Dubious old industrial estates. Why was the millenium dome built in London? Ok, it shouldnt have been built at all but as it was, why not in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle or Norwich.

Sorry if you live in the South East but it's full and the rest of the country isnt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_En ... on_density

[superfrank]

...is an intervention in market forces which we haven't had in this country since the 70's.

with respect that's rubbish.

since the financial crisis there has been massive intervention in markets to try to control them.

£375Bn of QE for example to buy govt bonds to reduce yields and force investors into riskier assets.

how about Osborne's help-to-buy schemes? underwriting private debt with public money and an array of subsidies for buyers to support/boost prices.

people only ever seem to notice the interventions that maybe harmful to beloved "investors".

[tweebie1999]

Which part is rubbish Frank?

Of course there has been intervention in the economy, there always is. Adjusting interest rates , tax , money suppy, start up funding etc. That's not what I was talking about. What I am refering to is government intervention into matters concerning private individuals dealings in the free market. I.e the rights of a landlord to increase rents. This is a socialist policy of the type we havent seen for a long time.

[superfrank]

Which part is rubbish Frank?

there has been much more than normal fiscal + monetary policy responses since the crisis started. central banks and govts have intervened all over the place to support asset prices and bailout out the private sector with public money.

what Osborne is doing with housing is anti-free market in just the same way as Miliband's rent controls crap. i'm simply pointing out that we've moved a long way from having true free markets and it's not socialists that have done it this time.

[Euler]

More debating and more politicians carefully using the word 'deficit' and not 'debt' I noticed. I really feel that we are destined to repeat the mistakes of the past until we go completely bankrupt. I don't want to hand that burden on to future generations.

[Archangel]

Unfortunately the way any politician looks at it is with a very short term view. They will happily burden future generation with debt as long as they can borrow enough to keep themselves in power. Debt is someone elses problem as far as they are concerned

[PeterLe]

Ed took a bit of a beating last night! They dont mince their words in leeds!