Conference speech: “There is no point in pretending to be an ostrich…”
It’s Party Conference season. It is a very exciting time when party members, MPs and Councillors get together in somewhere “exotic” like Manchester (Greens), Liverpool (Labour), Birmingham (Tories) or Brighton (LibDems).
This is fertile ground for exchanging ideas and talking to like minded Party members. Three of the conferences this year are quite festive; Labour for winning a majority one more than Tony Blair, the LibDems for their best election result in a century and the Greens the biggest they have ever been despite our political system that is stacked against smaller parties.
A hot topic at all these conferences is of course housing. I can resist everything except temptation, so naturally I have to make my conference speech to all of them (and you… nothing like a captive audience, eh?).
Dear conference delegates, comrades, friends, Romans, countrymen etc. etc, I have a simple message for you at this here conference tide.
One: The new Government and more importantly the Treasury is after the lolly from housebuilding. They are not going to compromise and no matter how much posturing and crying foul or arguments about “precious green belt” is going to get you slipped.
Two: There is now a very powerful caucus in the Labour Parliamentary Party (well over 100 MPs) who are pro housebuilding. One of them said: “I can’t afford a home in my constituency on my £92k MP salary and that needs sorting out. Now. “
Three: Housing targets are back, so is 5YHLS and you WILL be making a Local Plan or else Ms Rayner will put you in detention and make you do lines of your Local Plan.
Four: Housing is coming… like paying taxes and dying… it is now going to be one of those inevitabilities in life, so you had better start getting used to it mate. Pretending to be an ostrich and burying your head in the sand is only going to make the housing need bigger.
Five: Regional planning is coming back so if you have beef with your neighbour, Cllr Smith in Middleshire East District Council you had better lay down your sword, kiss and make up because you are going to have to work together and the quicker you do that, the better you are going to serve your electorate.
Six: Planning can be done WITH you and your community or it can be done TO you and your community. Your job as a Councillor is to engage with the developers and with Planning Officers and your community in a MEANINGFUL WAY and shape the developments. Developers will listen and will work with you. Why? Because if they get it wrong, the homes won’t sell and they will get fired or go bankrupt. They need your local knowledge as much as you need them to provide the infrastructure that will make it work.
Seven: But this all works two ways - If a developer wants to build homes in your ward and they didn’t bother to talk to you, call me. I will track them down for you and roast their toes at the fire.
Until Next week,
Henry