A CITY WAITS FOR THE MILIBAND EFFECT

THE END  OF COUNCIL HOUSE OWNERSHIP NEVER GOT THE  OPPOSITION IT DESERVED

Ed Miliband has stung  politicians into real  debate again. He stung his party at Brighton last week and this week stung the Tories  at Manchester.

At both party conferences, his threat to the power companies dominated  debates.

Ed Miliband`s sting cannot come soon enough for Carlisle where not so long ago his many supporters succeeded in giving him the city`s backing  when he was elected party leader

These Miliband supporters may now  get a chance to face up to  some of the disasters of the Blair years: the Cumberland Infirmary and the Academy schools –both now among the worst in the country- and the privatisation of the city council houses.

Carlisle council house privatisation never got the political opposition it deserved. Opposition was nowhere to be seen.

What  privatisation did get was an extra political push from John Prescott  when he was communities secretary.

Since then  privatisation has been enthusiastically embraced by the Carlisle Labour leaders, some of whom have joined in as company directors to help privatisation.

These supporters of privatised housing are happy to see consigned to history the social purpose of municipal housing.

And also consigned  to history,  the long tradition of Carlisle council house building lasting over a century and now replaced  by  a giant organisation running the houses for profit from Liverpool 100 miles away.

Ed Miliband`s sting cannot come soon enough for Carlisle.

Community Voice Carlisle is the blog of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation. Information about the Federation is  contained in the first post of the blog, dated March 25 2013.