WOOLLY JUMPERS AND WINDFALLS

I had my first sighting yesterday of the new crop of brussels sprouts . Coupled with the arrival of corn on the cob in our local co-op that means autumn is almost upon us. I'm not upset in one way as I haven't had the most pleasant of summers - but the falling temperatures are going to hit all of us hard when it comes to fuel bills.
I'm a long way from being in fuel poverty but nevertheless I will be donning extra woolly jumpers, lighting the wood-burning stove and basically doing anything I can to cut costs.
If we don't as a Party do something radical to ensure the utilities pay for their rank profiteering we will not be forgiven. The windfall tax proposal, now backed I believe by 93 MPs, and thousands of activists, is an excellent one which I think would win the Government some much-needed support. On another note I was pleased to see that the Treasury is actually considering allowing local authorities to buy back homes which are repossessed . I furst heard of this proposal some months ago from Tony Benn at the LRC's LEAP conference and it is a bit heartening to note the Govt going even some way towards more council housing.

TIME FOR REAL ACTION ON HOUSING

Sometimes I yearn for a more spacious home. However, in the light of the Govt plans to extend the HIP scheme I suppose I'm thankful that my house (purchased 1996 before things went absolutely crazy round here) has only two bedrooms ( despite originally being TWO dwellings) .For it seems that the 11 million people in the UK with three-bedroomed properties will now have to sign up to the Home Information pack scheme if they wish to move on. This costs a substantial amount of money - on top of the huge bungs that go to estate agents and solicitors. And I think the Govt is missing the whole point of the current homes crisis. Lack of information isn't the problem, but lack of homes, and lack of money to buy them.The market is absolutely bloated with over-priced properties and young first-time buyers face a mountain of debt to even get on the property ladder. Many others are living in dread of more interest hikes or unemployment as they struggle to pay their mortgages.

It's time Gordon Brown addressed the real housing problems in this country - tinkering with cosmetic stuff like the HIP programme isn't the answer.