Wednesday, 5 July 2017

The Tories are not solely to blame for Grenfell.

For some years Mu family lived if Council owned flats in Beddau  it was a hideous looking which quickly gained the nickname  Coldiz or Alcatraz.

To me it resembled a multi-story car park.
For years there was a run our that it has won a prize  and I latter found out that ir was fir housing the maxim number of people in the minimum amount of space.

The thing was that Beddau is not an inner City  and there was space to build normal social houses.

Then of course came Thatcher and the right to buy which was  supposed to create a property owning democracy but in many case the original buyers moved on and many of these homes are now part of the buy to rent  scene,

I am nor trying to relate my own experience  with  that of the tragedy that has happened in Kensington and the Grenfell fire.

But it should be pointed out that this could    have happened  in other Cities and Burroughs and to simply blame the Tories who control the councils is wrong.

Having lived in London I know that the cost od accommodation is beyond that of the vast majority people  and particularly low paid.

The solution in inner cities id to place them in the sort of Tower Blocks like Grenfell so those who service the more well off are nearby.

Pt may well be that Councils turn a blind eye to overcrowding as more than the allotted number  live there and that is why many believe the death toll in Grenfel will be much higher than expected from the registered residents.

The anger directed at the Tories is justified but Labour Councils on London and elsewhere have failed to address the problem and the same cam be said of our devolved  governments.

We need to make sure that the tragedy of Grenfell  does not happen again anywhere in the UK but we need to address the wider issue of why so many people were living there?

Of course the solution in London will be different in Cities, Urban and Rural  areas but we need to address how to accommodate those who need housing but can't afford to buy.

It is clear that Grenfell could have happened in a Labour (or other ) run  Borough

All parties need to address these issues  and those currently solely blaming the Tories need to take a hard look at what they have done to address the issue.












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