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'Millions' to be spent on council housing

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Published Date: 19 April 2008
By David Maddox
Scottish Political Correspondent
HUNDREDS of new council houses will be built across Scotland under multi-million– pound government plans being announced today.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister, will reveal the investment in tackling Scotland's housing crisis in her keynote speech at the SNP spring conference.

Party members will meet just before they celebrate their first year in office amid the
row over their plans to replace the council tax with a 3p local income tax.

Critics claim the policy will harm multi-earner households and students and take away tax-raising powers from councils, but the SNP insists it is fairer.

The Conservatives also alleged yesterday that Ms Sturgeon, in an interview, admitted that she wanted independence to raise more money through tax.

In the interview she said: "Of course if Scotland was independent, if we had financial independence, we would raise our own taxes and decide our own spending levels.

"That would be a much more sensible position for us to have, but in the meantime we have to work within the levels set elsewhere."

A spokesman for the SNP dismissed the Tory claims as "pure spin", saying: "Ms Sturgeon will today be showing that we are getting on with actually getting things done.

"There is a genuine crisis in housing in this country which we intend to tackle.

"In her speech today, Ms Sturgeon will announce an eight– figure sum to pay for hundreds of new council houses across Scotland and a ban on the sale of new council houses through right to buy, to give councils an incentive to build them."

The First Minister, Alex Salmond, is due to speak at the conference tomorrow.

Today, Angus Robertson, the SNP business convener, will launch Vision.

It will set out the policies delivered by the SNP in government over the last 12 months and reveal plans for the second year.





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  • Last Updated: 19 April 2008 12:06 AM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

,

19/04/2008 01:06:34
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
2

GalacticCannibal,

Murrieta; . CA.....a place in the Sun 19/04/2008 02:21:05
1
Jwil,

----------------------

Hey dude ,

David Maddox ,learned that from the SNP

Dirty tricks that is

GC
3

Boggle fey the Bog,

19/04/2008 02:34:03
"'Millions' to be spent on council housing"

So runs the headline, out of 13 sentences THREE refer the Housing crisis and the money to be spent.

Then there are FIVE directed at LIT, come on Maddox get real, Scottish Political Correspondent? in yer dreams man!!!
4

Navvy,

19/04/2008 02:44:11
I have no objection to government sponsoring housing. We should still promote the sale of such housing to all but the most impoverished. This allows the money to be used to build more housing.

It goes without saying that such housing should have good public transport and be near othe amenities. It is proven around the world that owner occupation makes for better communities
5

GalacticCannibal,

Murrieta; . CA.....a place in the Sun 19/04/2008 04:18:11
'Millions' to be spent on council housing
---------------------------------

Dudes ,
Council housing belongs in the last century, its a crutch and it should be abolished.

Council housing makes people less likely to move forward and stand on their own two feet.

An independent Scotland filled with council houses . WOW that would be bizarre.

The low income housing here in the States . Which u could equate to Ur council house boxes. Is the source of 90% of crime in the US.

Poorly educated . low income white and black trash live in these Projects here in the US.

They use 90% of all the money allocated to medical , social , and protection (cops) .

They are mostly on VIC programs , (food stamps ), they breed like rabbits,

They can barely read or write English , they cannot spell. They are generally obese. They earn minimum wages

But they all have a vote, just like the dude who went to college gained a PhD in Physics. Earns $200,000 yr.and pays taxes etc.

WOW what a system .

Adios Dudes

GC

6

A Better Way,

Edinburgh 19/04/2008 04:27:12
The Conservatives also alleged yesterday that Ms Sturgeon, in an interview, admitted that she wanted independence to raise more money through tax.

In the interview she said: "Of course if Scotland was independent, if we had financial independence, we would raise our own taxes and decide our own spending levels.

"That would be a much more sensible position for us to have, but in the meantime we have to work within the levels set elsewhere."

Now to all sensible level headed Scots, the statement by Nicola Sturgeon refers to all our tax income being retained by our own Government, for the benefit of OUR OWN PEOPLE. No more funding Illegal Wars, No more funding Trident, No more financing terrorist police, No more financing 167 billion quids worth of Quangoes in Westminster, No more Financing MP pockles and Pension scheme we would all kill for and definately no more financing Northern Rock's 25 billion losses.

I am sure that there are many Patriots on these forums that could add quite a bit more to my list.

Perhaps we should start a list on why it would be good for the Scottish People to keep subsidising the rest of the UK. Would anyone care to lead off on the list?. I cant think of one reason to stay in the Union and by looking at the comments of High& Shoitee, AM2 and the remaining Unionists, I dont think they can list a decent credible FOR case.


7

Hamish Scott,

19/04/2008 08:15:02
#6
This forum is an ideal opportunity for unionists to defend the Union but they seldom do. What we get instead is a lot of trolling and 'lies, fears and smears'. Perhaps this means unionists can't think of one good reason to stay in the Union either?
8

James,

Dundee 19/04/2008 08:15:22
There was a paradigm shift when Council Housing bacame Social Housing - this occured with the 'Right to Buy'.

This has stigmatised public sector housing, and while we all waited for changes when New Labour were elected in 1997, they have instead eagerly followed their idealogical bedfellows, the Thatcherite Tories, in the creation of ghettos.

It's all very well encouraging home ownership, however many decent low income families wont ever aspire to home ownership, and for many others, the precariousness of their levels of debt - the so called 'sub-prime' mortgage market - means they'll be constantly living in 'poverty' in real terms as their disposable income has been sacrificed in pursuit of 'living the dream'.

With the economic downturn, many more will not be able to buy, and the amount of re-pos will increase.

There is room for public rental housing, but the stigmas will also need to be removed.

Labour might have started the ball rolling, but they have failed their natural constituency, as they drift ever rightward.




9

Unimpressed one,

19/04/2008 08:42:57
"Council housing makes people less likely to move forward and stand on their own two feet."

Same could be said of governments bailing out banks.
10

JG,

Fife 19/04/2008 10:04:27
#9 Unimpressed one
"Same could be said of governments bailing out banks"

Or interfering when the over-inflated housing prices begins to adjust to a more realistic level.
11

McX,

19/04/2008 10:18:08
#5 displays his dribbling mentalist credentials magnificently.

How fare the trailer trash in cardboard city California?

Have a happy fascist day dud.
12

Klaus Dubois,

Edinburgh 19/04/2008 10:24:45
Why can't we look at the issue from a different perpsective ? Scotland, around the central belt, is going to get as crowded as England; instead of building more prospective ghettos, why not just have less people ?
13

McX,

19/04/2008 10:50:22
Klaus, people are already commuting to the central belt from points South and North.
14

Klaus Dubois,

Edinburgh 19/04/2008 12:05:57
#15, so we should improve communication links, what's your point ?
15

ochone,

Sauchie, Clack's 19/04/2008 12:50:48
The SNP will be getting accused of more populist polices again!
16

Phil C,

19/04/2008 14:09:28
This is a quite excellent policy, and more SNP common sense. I was waiting for this one!

It is vital that councils build houses. Half the problem with the housing market now is that councils did not reinvest the proceeds of the house sales of the 80' and 90s by building new affordable houses, particularly on brown field sites. These could have been rented, then sold under right-to-buy legislation and new ones built and so on. I just hope that's the general idea now.

The buy-to-let brigade would not have been able to take a stranglehold on the lower end of the property market, thus driving prices up unrealistically and damagingly.
17

puskas,

East kilbride 19/04/2008 19:10:33
No16 Klaus,

Comunication links are to be improved from Ayrshire through Glasgow to Inverness and Moray....

So their you are... You have your wish ....Anything else you can have ideas on ?
18

puskas,

East kilbride 19/04/2008 19:23:53
Excellent decision..

Labour had promised action for many years with nout happening.. Labour caught flatfooted yet again.

No doubt the SNP led Scottish Government have listened to the people of Scotland.
What an embarrassment for NuLiebour and the LibDums and their years in power. SNP progressive thinking even as a minority government lead the way to a better Scotland.

Well done again Mr Salmond and your Nationalist Government.


Mr Alex Salmond and Co. have been a breath of fresh air on the political scene. No wonder the opinion polls have averaged +'s every month since taking power for Alex and Independence..
Oh what we could do with freedom, and Westminster having a backseat forever..
19

puskas,

East kilbride 19/04/2008 19:40:46
No5 , You are a pityful creature with comment that sours any debate...

The Klu Klux Klan would be proud of you I'm sure.

Hawking might someday manage to find, "the answer to everything" the secrets of the universe.

You are on a different planet and will escape his conclusions.


Back to debate.
A little point regards private build and ownership.

Germany does not to bad with a very low percentage of home owners. Something like 10/15%. Anybody have the correct figures...

A mix of both in my opinion is the correct way to progress our nation.



20

Foulkes Off the CyberNat,

Edinburgh 19/04/2008 22:20:13
I believe she actually said """" We would DECIDE our own tax levels and decide our own spending levels""""

But far be it from me to suggest Tory politicians tell porkies.
21

Foulkes Off the CyberNat,

Edinburgh 19/04/2008 22:25:18
GC

Why are you trying to pretend yer some kind of septic surfer tube when yer comming across as a tube anyway???
Yer so obviously UK based its embarrassing to read yer OTT US surfer dude p*sh.
Change yer logon and come back sober and less pretentious. Yer just comming across as a joke.
Or dont it disnae really matter.

 

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