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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Boris Johnson: his housing benefit denials are looking thin | Boris Johnson: his housing benefit denials are looking thin |
| (1 day later) | |
| Boris Johnson's insistence to BBC London's Vanessa Feltz in October 2010 that the government's housing benefit reforms would not lead to "Kosovo-style social cleansing" was taken by some at the time as a criticism of the government's plans. But as Boris says, he supports the changes in principle. He always has. It's instructive to look back to the strong statement he issued in the wake of his comments to Feltz to clarify where he stood. | Boris Johnson's insistence to BBC London's Vanessa Feltz in October 2010 that the government's housing benefit reforms would not lead to "Kosovo-style social cleansing" was taken by some at the time as a criticism of the government's plans. But as Boris says, he supports the changes in principle. He always has. It's instructive to look back to the strong statement he issued in the wake of his comments to Feltz to clarify where he stood. |
| My consistent position has been that the government is absolutely right to reform the housing benefit system which has become completely unsustainable. | My consistent position has been that the government is absolutely right to reform the housing benefit system which has become completely unsustainable. |
| He went on: | He went on: |
| I do not agree with the wild accusations from defenders of the current system that reform will lead to social cleansing. It will not, and if you listened carefully to what I said, no such exodus will take place on my watch. | I do not agree with the wild accusations from defenders of the current system that reform will lead to social cleansing. It will not, and if you listened carefully to what I said, no such exodus will take place on my watch. |
| It's a matter of opinion if the measures being taken by London boroughs as different as Croydon and Newham to find alternative accommodation for claimants far beyond the capital should be characterised as "social cleaning", "Kosovo-style" or otherwise. Moreover, a senior officer in a borough where the numbers of households affected by housing benefit caps are very large told me late last year that the 'transitional arrangements' - Boris had already lobbied for in partnership with London Councils had made a difference. | |
| Yet Boris's insistence that there would not be a large exodus of families either from London altogether or from the more expensive parts to the poorer ones is starting to look misplaced. Evidence has been accumulating for months that boroughs such as Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham are seeing significant numbers of people packing their bags. | Yet Boris's insistence that there would not be a large exodus of families either from London altogether or from the more expensive parts to the poorer ones is starting to look misplaced. Evidence has been accumulating for months that boroughs such as Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham are seeing significant numbers of people packing their bags. |
| At the other end of the private sector rent spectrum, Barking and Dagenham learned long ago from its local private landlords that they didn't expect to have to lower their rents as the caps took effect. Note that Newham is located right next door. | At the other end of the private sector rent spectrum, Barking and Dagenham learned long ago from its local private landlords that they didn't expect to have to lower their rents as the caps took effect. Note that Newham is located right next door. |
| The wider context for all this is, of course, London's deepening and many-faceted housing crisis. The government has, from the off, cynically highlighted the very tiny number of very extreme housing benefit cases in central London in order to woo appalled public opinion, but no one considers the huge sums of housing benefit devoured by London as a whole to be acceptable. The key issue is how best to solve the core problem - the insane unaffordability of London accommodation. | |
| There's general agreement among mayoral candidates that the answer is a huge increase in house-building in general and of affordable housing in particular. The problem is that the government has cut the budget available to the mayor for building affordable homes and ensured that the proportion delivered at the cheaper end of the "affordable" scale has been reduced. Boris, I'm afraid, has not complained about that at all. | There's general agreement among mayoral candidates that the answer is a huge increase in house-building in general and of affordable housing in particular. The problem is that the government has cut the budget available to the mayor for building affordable homes and ensured that the proportion delivered at the cheaper end of the "affordable" scale has been reduced. Boris, I'm afraid, has not complained about that at all. |