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Housing and Regeneration Bill

I rise to add my voice to the polyphony of support from all parts of the House for new clauses 1 and 8—although not a monopoly of support, as we have heard a discordant note from the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Mr. Raynsford). Members of four parties have, however, supported new clauses 1 and 8. I do not see in them an almost Stalinist nostalgia, which is the picture that the right hon. Gentleman painted. They are in favour of a mixed economy—of a social democratic principle, which I would have thought the right hon. Gentleman, a former Minister, would have found it in his heart to support. It is true that mistakes have been made in relation to council housing. However, when I compare those mistakes with the achievements made through council housing in the 20th century, I still feel that it should be part of the iconography of the Labour party, alongside the NHS, because council housing did as much as the NHS in that century to improve public health. The under-investment in council housing was as nothing to the abuse and suffering that working-class people had to cope with from private landlords before the council housing movement gathered pace, initially at local level and then through the 1945 Labour Government. The amendments attempt to maintain some space for council housing. The hon. Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) referred to the first council house that was built. If things continue in the current way, we might see the last council house. The picture in Wales is depressingly similar to that in England. We have partial devolution, but the model of housing finance is governed by primary legislation in Westminster and rules set by the Treasury. Although the political consensus in Wales is generally to the left of centre and is overwhelmingly in favour of retaining a strong role for council housing, more and more local authorities are being forced down the route of transferring their stock. The hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Mr. Havard) is present. Only last Thursday, there was a knife-edge vote in Merthyr Tydfil—the closest yet in Wales. With people voting by text message, there was still a majority of only 14 in favour of stock transfer, even though they were promised 2,000 new bathrooms, 2,500 new kitchens and so forth. Those are the kinds of inducements that are repeatedly offered to tenants, yet the votes are always close. In Conwy, there was a 51 per cent. to 49 per cent. decision, despite the same kind of financial pressure, which leads the tenants to decide there is no future in the local authority housing sector.