Our New Housing Minister: First Impressions
Issue 1: Those who think kindling the housing market will stimulate economic growth versus those who think demand for housing is the problem and cite Spain and Ireland as examples of why stimulating the economy by stimulating house building won’t work.
Issue 2: Those who want to relax planning laws to enable development versus those who want to protect the green belt at all costs.
Rather than delve into the whys and wherefores of each of these issues that are set to define his tenure, Quick Move Properties decided to take a look at how we think the new housing minister will deal with them…
The first indications are that Mark is a peace-maker, always aiming to keep both sides happy and reluctant to nail his colours to the mast. His speeches are patterned with phrases such as ‘want to ensure a continuing dialogue’ and ‘if we work together’, a welcome change to his rather dictatorial predecessor but not promising much action!
Likewise, his rhetoric is littered with wishy-washy sayings, such as ‘picking up pace’, ‘tackle problems’, ‘working together’, ‘a really important step’, ‘I think it’ll help’. These are all nice sentiments, but there are no direct statements of intent.
He has praised government initiatives such as bank loans for builders, funding for lending, reducing regulatory burdens, enabling first time buyers to purchase homes and help for social landlords but has given no real indication of HIS beliefs and priorities.
Given that Mark has a wealth of relevant experience and a natural desire to take into account all opinions before making a decision, he has the potential to be an outstanding housing minister, negotiating the choppy waters ahead with a sound understanding of all aspects of the housing crisis and respect from his colleagues.
At some point though, he will have to disagree with one sector or another of the industry in order to make progress. As an impartial bystander, we think the sooner he makes this defining move and releases the sector from limbo, the better!
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