The
terror threat continues with last night`s
London slaughter… and as the country grapples to defeat the Islamist militants,
another fight for democratic values and human rights goes on.
This is the fight against the bossy and autocratic
rule of Riverside Housing Association.
Some people reading this article will reject its
lumping together of international terror and the operations of a comparatively
insignificant Merseyside housing
organisation . Certainly there is a massive difference in the operating scale
of the two bodies.
But the aim
of both organisations is identical: that
is to use force to impose undemocratic
rule .
The
British people have confidence that the
Islamists will be defeated and crushed. But what about Riverside`s
50,000 tenants and leaseholders? Can they be confident that their
autocratic
and bossy rulers will be defeated?
New light on the undemocratic nature of the
Riverside operation was shone recently by Carlisle city councillors expressing
concern that tenants have no democratic structure to get their problems
addressed.
Councillors are hoping that they will gain new
rights for tenants and leaseholders following the current negotiastions with
Riverside`s Carlisle boss, Ms Sarah Paton, the recently-appointed north
regional director.
And nationally, there is a new challenge to Riverside
and all the other hundred or so housing associations.
UKIP has promised to “launch a review”
of the operation of housing associations after including an attack on the
sector in its election manifesto.
“Housing associations
are accountable neither to taxpayers, who provide much of their funding, nor to
their own tenants,” said the manifesto
“They are not
building as many homes as private developers, the homes they do build cost more
to put up, and they are failing to tackle anti-social behaviour.
“Housing associations
manage 60% of the socially rented sector… but UKIP is not convinced they are
benefiting either tenants or the taxpayer..”
The UKIP manifesto sparked a debate in the columns of Inside Housing, the social housing trade paper.
Some of the views
expressed in that debate echo the views of the concerned Carlisle councillors
and the views of campaigning groups such as Carlisle Tenants`` and Residents`
Fedeartion which publishes this blog.
Here are the views of
one Inside Housing reader, Andy Thompson(below):
- “Gosh - how do you express support for what UKIP has said about housing associations without implying support for the party? Difficult! However, what has been said about housing associations is not a million miles away from the truth.
They are inefficient when it comes to
new build costs compared to both developers and local authorities. They are
increasingly out of touch with communities and tenants - how can a mega
association covering the UK really be part of the community?
They have had subsidy in cash and kind
(cheap land, Section.106 deals, cut price stock transfers - average £15k a unit
et al) that manufacturers would give their right arms, left legs and both ears
for.
They do have appalling rates of pay at
the top for providing a product with more buyers than sellers - I suspect the
bosses of Honda UK or Sainsbury's would like to have waiting lists for Civic
cars and Rice Krispies rather than have to go out and battle for every sale.
Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803.
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