LABOUR`S ELECTION BRINGS NEW HOPE

Corbyn points 

the way to

taming a 

bossy

regime

Jeremy Corbyn(left), racing even further ahead in the Labour Party leadership race, now has  the Carlisle branch of the party helping him on his way.

That Carlisle support for Corbyn in the election of a new leader raises interesting questions.

Carlisle party members are now wondering how  Corbyn`s policies, if he ever becomes prime minister, could  reverse previous Labour policies which their branch supported more than a decade ago.

These policies have remained controversial ever since.

Particularly controversial was one which split the local party and proved disastrous for the city in the opinion of many people.

That policy was the privatisation of the city`s l6,000  council houses, built  with taxpayer`s money over a period of more than 100 years, an outstanding record of social housing the city should be proud of.

The privatisation was pushed ahead by  John Prescott who was then Tony Blair`s community secretary. But many Carlisle Labour Pary members were against privatisation.

Crucially, these members were persuaded to change their minds  and  vote for  privatisation out of loyalty to the Blair government.

That persuasion is thought to have been enough to ensure the privatisation  went ahead. The houses were sold at bargain prices to the Liverpool based Riverside Housing Association.

The privatisation  gave carte blanche to  Riverside - which in reality is  a giant property development organisationt - to set about closures of  much needed sheltered housing,  to set about the abolition of local tenant and community groups and to set about dodgy  building projects such as the disastrous Longtown solar panel scheme.

In  every one of these policies, no one  could properly hold Riverside to account democratically because all democracy had been swept away under a new bossy regime .

Today, that  authoritarian Riverside regime is threatened by Jeremy Corbyn and his policies...to allow councils to build council and social housing and allow more longer tenancies, together with  rent regulation and rents linked to average local earnings.

Corbyn said recently: “It has become clear that when housing provision is left purely to market forces, most of our young people simply cannot afford to get a foot on the rung of the market’s so called housing ladder.”

His policies  could be the wish list of almost any one of these young people.

Jeremy Corbyn`s policies  are now also on the wish list of most members of Carlisle Labour Party. It is a massive turnaround for the local party from the time 12 years ago of  Riverside privatisation.

And as we all now know, Jereny Corbyn`s  policies look likely  to be on the wish list of most  Labour Party members  throughout the country.

The many Carlisle critics of Riverside say they are not there yet in changing  things at Riverside.

But  they are now on  their way.

CarlisleTenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803.