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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

New political party calls for rent controls and no “landlordism”

A new political party called Breakthrough is campaigning for radical reform of the rental sector and housing in general.

The party - which describes itself as “youth led” and has a former Labour Party member as its leader - has no elected councillors or MPs, although a small number of councillors across the country are reported to have defected from Labour to Breakthrough. 

A former Plaid Cymru councillor in Wales, who most recently sat as an independent, has also reportedly moved to the Breakthrough banner.

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The party has a series of policies including nationalisation of key industries, “unleashing trade unions” by repealing “restrictive laws that currently hold them back”, and on the environment a programme of “massive decarbonisation, a green transition in farming and bold interventions to promote biodiversity and strengthen animal rights.”

On housing, it has a 10-point plan, much of which looks at aspects of the private rental sector. These include making private renting more affordable through rent controls, increasing wages and using council housing to put downward pressure on rents; it also wants higher taxation on unearned property income and the scrapping of buy-to-let mortgages, plus higher taxes on residential properties “kept vacant as financial assets” as well as on second and holiday homes, including short-term lets.

The party says: “This housing crisis is no accident: it is the result of decades of government policy designed to benefit landlords and developers rather than ordinary tenants and residents. It will take radical reform to create a housing system that meets people’s needs.

“In the long term, we want to see a society in which the fundamental right to a home is respected and homelessness made a thing of the past. 

“Landlordism — the hoarding of homes for profit — should ultimately be abolished, and secure, truly affordable council housing made widely available. All homes should be safe and fit for human habitation, supporting health, wellbeing and environmental sustainability. 

“And we must make sure that a range of homes are available or adaptable to meet the needs of groups such as older, disabled and neurodiverse people, and of various household sizes.”

Earlier this month the party welcomed another defector from Labour, this time a parish councillor, saying he wanted “to find a home at a party for the working class in all its diversity and one that challenges the status quo.”

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    FFS 🤦🏻‍♂️ Embarrassing to read.
    Rent controls, Higher taxation and scrapping of BTL mortgages.
    What are tenants meant to live in? Who’s going to finance this?
    If there’s no Landlordism then surely there is no tenantism. If this carries on then the only option for would be tenants is to buy a tent from Go Outdoors

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    Could be a good time they have a 60% off tents sale currently on lol

     
  • George Dawes

    Makes the monster raving loonies look quite sane

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    Pay rent or buy a tent!

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    😂😂👏

     
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    Aka The Communist Party

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    When your formerly mint property is trashed. The worry of court proceedings with costs with months to get them out,and even a fatality with someone who forgot to take their epilepsy medicine. And hours as an unpaid social worker. The list is a lot longer. I’ve earned my money thank you very much

     
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    "unearned property income"
    They should try being a landlord and see how earned it is. Clueless.

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    Yep that phrase got to me too!! People really do have no idea!!

     
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    So they’ll also be abolishing UC/UBI and other benefits then?

     
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    Aka The Conservative Party that we have had!

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    These people are are so stupid. I cannot be bothered to comment any further.

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    😜 best laugh of the day so far, and it’s only early. Keep em coming lads ….. 😂👍🏻

  • Yvette Graham

    They clearly have no idea how much it costs to run property even if you do have rent coming in and keep up with all the legislation and how much that costs ….let alone if any tenant trashed it or was to not pay their rent ….ok then / and just how would they fund the thousands and thousands of Council Houses they would need to provide if no landlords were !

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    Rental Reform that we already had, what do think has been happening in recent years and why do you think landlords has been throwing-in the towel.
    There is no such thing as unearned income if you don’t make the investment there is no return and you risk loosing your money whether your savings or borrowed.
    I suppose there is no point in us making representation no one listening, they have already done enormous unjustified damage to us. We are the ones that worked, saved, paid the taxes and build up the Business.
    The Government are now coming for us, sees us as easy targets and have acids so they’ll take those regardless, easy to see that, we know when we are been mugged this will not stop.
    Good luck to first time buyers that have been roped in to buy over priced high rise Flats with Schemes to make the millions for the Big Boys, you now have over priced Flats with unaffordable Mortgage’s like many landlords.

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    The ignorance is just unbelievable

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    The state would need to provide housing for everyone who wants it - nice idea but where would the ÂŁÂŁÂŁ come from. Sounds a lot like communism to me.

    Given how hard it is to beak in to our two party system, there is no chance of this party gaining any traction - ask the Greens & the LibDems!

  • George Dawes

    Entitled snowflake idiots living in cloud cuckoo land with as much comprehension of reality as a dope addled donkey

    If they’re the future of mankind , I’ll pray for a meteor strike

    That’ll be a truly great reset

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    George they will be living in tents and in a harsh winter will win a Darwin award.

     
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    When LL’s are taxed out of it where then to get the money from to live for free, They can’t tax their useless selves.
    Another one raising its ugly head putting Council tax on individual HMO Rooms like £1200. pa that’s £100.00 pm onto the rental of a room, did they say they wanted affordable rents ?.

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    Looking forward to the utopia they want to create.
    Socialism: a great idea until you run out of other peoples money.

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    The loonies are entering the upper echelons of the asylum and it's either time to remove them (no chance) or sell up and move to a sane country with sun and chilled wine, to retire from this marxist assault on everyones life styles. I'm off

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    I wouldn't worry about it. They will get wiped out at the next election and then disband

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    Why are you giving these ignorant nut jobs Legitimacy by publicising their manifesto.
    Should have been written as a piece exposing them to ridicule.
    Ahh I see.

  • jeremy clarke

    Crazy to think that these idiots probably received a state education and have aspirations of influencing Government!
    To me it looks like the education ended at nursery and the space occupied by government influencers is currently very overcrowded, no room for more loonies!

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    Just looked to see what is available in the area I rent in in Wales as I am about to give notice on 2 properties I wish to sell before the new draconian tenant contracts dreamed up by Rent Smart Wales, are made law on Dec 1st. Normally I would have waited until the tenants left, but the new rules in Wales have decided me that I cannot wait any longer. I am trying to judge if my tenants will sit tight due to lack of rental property or not. Just as I thought there is virtually nothing available to rent, most agents having between nothing and just 2 properties on their books. Looks like the landlords are all bailing out. These goons need to look at Wales and see just what they are wishing for.

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    The situation in Scotland is equally dire with an even more left wing crowd destroying the PRS and no flats available for rent at anything like their previous rents, so the loonies are now baying for rent controls!

     
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