From Paul Carroll, 104 London Debaters
On Tuesday, 13 November, 104 London Debaters will host a panel debate (think BBC's Question Time) chaired by charter-member Joann Walsh. The panelists, representing different viewpoints and constituencies, will discuss the efficacy (or otherwise) of the market for housing. The event will be interactive.
The 'housing crisis' is basically a housing affordability crisis, claims the Adam Smith Institute. It manifests itself in the form of extraordinary housing prices and rents after three decades of nearly uninterrupted price increases. A much larger part of our income is now being spent on housing than in past decades.
Whereas The Guardian contends that the root cause lies in the socio-economic transformations of the new economy. This new tech-induced, internet-empowered era implies an increasingly dynamic economy centred around R&D, marketing, and finance.
The housing crisis is leading to evictions, re-possessions—42,000 nationally last year—and homelessness, reports the World Socialist website, while London councils threaten to remove tenants to low-cost housing hundreds of miles away. The housing shortage is creating a social catastrophe. The explosion in private renting results in overcrowding and dreadful conditions, and is a boon for exploitative landlords.
WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS?
Come along and put your challenges to our panel!
Our debate is on Tuesday, 13 November 2018, 6:45 gathering for 7:00 gavel, The Grange Rochester Hotel, 69 Vincent Square, SW1P-2PA (entrance on Vane Street). Near Victoria Station and Pimlico Station. Convenient to Vauxhall Station as well.
104 London Debaters meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at The Grange Rochester
