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Looks like he'd sell his Granny if there was a buyer 8-) .................

 

Should Boris still be wooing foreign property investors?

By Brian Wheeler

Political reporter, BBC News

 

Housing bubble 'forming in London'

 

What makes a global property hot spot?

The bubbly will be flowing and the harbour crammed with yachts at the world's biggest property fair next week in Cannes. What are Boris Johnson and other UK local authority leaders doing there?

 

Every year thousands of property developers, bankers, lawyers, estate agents, investors - and a smattering of Russian oligarchs and Arab oil billionaires - descend on the South of France, for four days of deal-making and partying.

 

MIPIM, as it is known, is legendary for its size and extravagance. It is also the one time in the year that the world's richest property speculators can be guaranteed an audience with big decision-makers from the world of politics.

 

Ken Livingstone held court at private dinners with the UK's top property developers at MIPIM, as they plotted the transformation of London's skyline and the regeneration of unglamorous corners of the capital, such as King's Cross and Cricklewood.

 

Boris Johnson is also a regular in Cannes, where the event has been held since the 1990s, banging the drum for London as a place to invest.

 

MIPIM 2013

Everybody needs a yacht to impress would-be clients at MIPIM

But the mayor's attendance at this year's event is coming under fire from housing campaigners, who accuse of him of selling the city to the highest bidder - at a time when many Londoners are struggling to find an affordable home to rent, let alone buy.

 

'Decent homes'

 

The consensus at Westminster is that politicians must take every opportunity to seek inward investment.

 

But the Green Party of England and Wales - and voices outside the Westminster mainstream - are questioning whether this approach works when it comes to property, particularly with the market in London in danger of overheating.

 

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said: "Ultimately, we have to go back to regarding houses and homes, not investments, and look to restore investment in productive activities such as manufacturing, the creative industries and food production."

 

The Radical Housing Network, who on Thursday staged a protest outside City Hall, with the London Green Party, claim the mayor and other local authority leaders will be using MIPIM to sell public land and approve regeneration plans for more hotels, offices, luxury housing and shopping centres over the heads of voters.

 

Continue reading the main story

 

On the drawing board

 

Ram Brewery, Wandsworth: Bought by Chinese state-owned developer Greenland for potential residential development

 

Battersea Power Station: Malaysian investor S P Setia is funding 3,444 new homes

 

The Shard: Developer Irvine Sellar wants to build a 27-storey residential tower next door to the new skyscraper, backed by Qatar

 

Royal Wharf, East London: Singapore developer Oxley Holdings plans to build 3,385 homes

Source: CBRE/FT

 

Nic Lane, from Brent Housing Action, says: "We, the people who have been affected by deals made at MIPIM by our 'representatives' knew nothing of these deals until it was too late.

 

"Residents all over London are being forced out of their communities because of rising rents, and the building of unaffordable 'affordable' housing schemes to replace council housing."

 

Liliana Dmitrovic, of socialist campaign group People's Republic of Southwark, added: "We went to City Hall to show that our land, our cities, and our homes, will not be sold by politicians to line the pockets of developers. These are the individuals responsible for the housing crisis, and we believe that everyone deserves a decent home."

 

The campaigners highlighted redevelopment deals done by London councils at MIPIM with property developers, which they claim have led to council tenants being forced out of their homes.

 

The 'London not for sale' demonstration is part of a series protests across Europe, leading up to a "People's Tribunal" against property speculation at MIPIM on Wednesday, 12 March.

 

What angers campaigners in London the most is Mr Johnson's decision to scrap the 50% target for affordable housing in new developments, which was rarely met in any case, in favour of a numerical target.

 

 

'Ghost mansions'

Mr Johnson is also taking a more active role in the planning process, threatening to over-rule individual boroughs who want to block developments or demand more social housing.

 

Plans to build 700 private flats - 81 of which will be "social rented" homes - on the site of a Royal Mail sorting office, in Mount Pleasant, North London, is the latest big project to be "called in" by City Hall's planning team.

 

Developers say this is the only way London will get the new homes it so badly needs.

 

The Royal Mail says it cut its original target of 20% affordable homes to 12% as that was the only way to make the site, which will continue to house a sorting office, financially viable - but the final decision rests with the mayor.

 

In 2013, 18,000 homes were built across London - just over a third of the number actually needed, according to research by property experts CBRE.

 

Critics say ordinary Londoners will not be able to afford most of the new homes that are being built. At the top end of the market, the global super rich are building up London property portfolios as a "reserve currency," with more than 700 "ghost mansions" - worth a total of £3bn - standing empty, according to the Evening Standard.

 

But there is also a booming market in more modest "luxury flats" on big new developments, funded by foreign investors, who are more willing to take a risk on major projects than traditional UK house builders - if prices are going up, the CBRE's head of residential research Jennet Siebrits told The Financial Times.

 

'Profile raising'

The CBRE says developers from four nations - China, Singapore, Malaysia and Qatar - have permission to build more than 33,000 homes in London, and they hold twice as many sites as those being developed by affordable-house builders such as housing associations.

 

Boris Johnson's office argue that housing campaigners have not only failed to grasp the point of his trip to MIPIM, they have not given him enough credit for his social housing programmes.

 

In a statement, a spokesman for the mayor said: "London, together with other major cities around the UK and across Europe, will be represented at MIPIM to attract vital investment to build the infrastructure, offices and homes necessary to continue to create jobs and support the capital's economic growth post-recession.

 

"The mayor is attending MIPIM to directly lobby key investors and developers to help double house-building, including more affordable homes, and fund major regeneration projects around the capital.

 

"In addition he is doing everything in his power to boost housing supply and has released the majority of public land he owns for development, as well as securing an extra £1.25bn to expand his programme to build 100,000 low-cost homes."

 

Developers say they have had to raise cash from foreign investors to stay afloat as the economy emerges from recession.

 

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: "Raising capital to fund any type of development has been very difficult over the past few years, so that those who helped keep development going, including investors, during that time should be congratulated not pilloried."

 

Representatives from at least 20 local authorities across the UK are also sending delegations to the South of France:

 

Bath, Bolton, Bristol, City of London, York, Derby, Glasgow, Greater London, Greater London Authority, Leeds City Region, Leicester, Ealing, Hounslow, Scottish Cities Alliance, Sheffield City, South Gloucestershire City, Cardiff City, Wakefield, Coventry, Southwark

But, for most of these local authorities, a shortage of housing is not the biggest issue they face. It is all about jobs and investment.

 

Sheffield City Region, a public private consortium set up to boost regional development, plans to attend MIPIM for the first time in years.

 

"It is about profile raising. If you are not there, you are not part of the conversation," says Simon Collingwood, of PR agency Counter Context, which is helping to set up the trip.

 

In contrast to Boris Johnson, who will be flown in with his team and put up in a top hotel at the organisers' expense, the Sheffield delegation will be relying on funding from local developers and businesses to cover its expenses, including the £1,300 entrance fee.

 

The aim is make big international investors aware that Sheffield exists - so that they think of spending money on new retail and industrial developments there instead of London.

 

MIPIM may look like the mother of all junkets - and some of the local authorities going this year are coming under fire for clambering aboard the gravy train for the South of France - but if Boris Johnson is there, they have to be there too.

 

:-|

 

London.............a city devolved from the UK *-)..............

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Quiet day on the Costas?

 

Whose opinion are you copying Dave!

 

Better Boris than the Loony Left having yet another bash at cocking up a recovering economy - something they are very good at - well they would be as they have had so much practice over so many parliaments.

 

You might not like Boris's style but the generation of wealth is preferable to the generation of debt which is then left behind for the next - er - generation!

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Guest pelmetman
Tracker - 2014-03-08 7:29 PM

 

Quiet day on the Costas?

 

Whose opinion are you copying Dave!

 

Better Boris than the Loony Left having yet another bash at cocking up a recovering economy - something they are very good at - well they would be as they have had so much practice over so many parliaments.

 

You might not like Boris's style but the generation of wealth is preferable to the generation of debt which is then left behind for the next - er - generation!

 

The clue was in the first paragraph Rich ;-)...........

 

"Should Boris still be wooing foreign property investors?

By Brian Wheeler

Political reporter, BBC News"

 

I agree the usual suspects have been flogging off the UK to the highest bidders for decades *-)...............Question?..........What happens when there's nothing left in public ownership left to sell? :-S..............

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Guest pelmetman
Still doesn't answer the question though Rich ;-)......................What happens once everything owned in theory by Joe public is sold to the private sector...............what then? :-|................As flogging off our utilities seems to have done us little good *-).................furthermore why are the people we vote in allowed to treat public property as their private fiefdoms? :-S..............
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Very valid points Dave - but having seen what socialism does to other countries that alternative seems even worse.

 

So we have corrupt politicians with funny money versus corrupt unions with iffy voting scams all vying for power over the other and us in a variety of guises and all designed to line their individual pockets at our expense - or am I just a cynical old voter?

 

All brothers are equal - but party card carrying brothers are always more equal than others!

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Hi,

 

We need a lot more like Boris if we are going to get ourselves out of the debt mountain that the Loony left have made, I would certainly vote for him if he became PM,.

 

I think you need to get behind the silly hair style and listen to him, he is certainly no dumb-arse that some people take him for, he appears to have well thought our plans for London that appear to be working and I think the measure of how well he has done for London would be a good thing if he could spread that around the country.

 

I think his message for social housing is that you need to get the economics right for people to invest, no one is going to build cheap affordable housing unless there is something in it for them, I wouldn't put my savings into a scheme that was going to lose me money.

 

 

 

 

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Boris Johnson has a good brain but publicly acts the buffoon whereas Ken Livingstone pretended to have a brain but was really just a politically motivated buffoon.

 

Not my view but the view of all those Londoners who twice voted for Boris for Mayor.

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Boris Johnson is a bumbling, hypocritical buffoon -- and this proves it!

Here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26529921

 

Here's what Steve Bell (brilliant political cartoonist) thinks:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cartoon/2014/mar/12/steve-bell-death-bob-crow-boris-johnson

 

Also -- what about this appalling suggestion -- off the top of his(mop)head?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26413024

And this from someone who represents a party which is supposed to be against the 'Nanny State'?

what Bollox the man talks -- definitely NOT to be trusted!

 

Colin.

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Guest peter

 

Also -- what about this appalling suggestion -- off the top of his(mop)head?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26413024

And this from someone who represents a party which is supposed to be against the 'Nanny State'?

what Bollox the man talks -- definitely NOT to be trusted!

 

Colin.

Ignore Tracker, for he knoweth not of what he speaks. Just the same old crap about how bad the Labour party are. It all gets rather boring in the end.
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peter - 2014-03-12 7:16 PM

Just the same old crap about how bad the Labour party are. It all gets rather boring in the end.

 

The truth often does when there are none so blind as will not see the damage the looney left have caused to the economy of the country every time they get into power.

 

Fortunately sooner or later the great unwashed sees sense and kicks them out again just long enough for the Tories to rebuild the economy and reduce the national debt before giving them yet another opportunity to mess it all up again.

 

And so the cycle of build then destroy, prosperity then debt, capitalism then socialism goes on ad nauseum. goes on.

 

How hard can it be to understand that, just as with families, countries cannot spend what they do not earn and what they do earn can either be spent on the well being of the populace or the servicing of debt.

 

I know which I prefer.

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peter - 2014-03-12 7:16 PM

 

 

Also -- what about this appalling suggestion -- off the top of his(mop)head?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26413024

And this from someone who represents a party which is supposed to be against the 'Nanny State'?

what Bollox the man talks -- definitely NOT to be trusted!

 

Colin.

Ignore Tracker, for he knoweth not of what he speaks. Just the same old crap about how bad the Labour party are. It all gets rather boring in the end.

 

Tracker always reminds me of that bloke from the film " Life of Brian "

 

" What have the Romans ( or Labour ) ever done for us "

 

( Apart from minimum wage, Open University, National Health Service etc )

 

:-D

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malc d - 2014-03-13 10:18 AM

Tracker always reminds me of that bloke from the film " Life of Brian "

" What have the Romans ( or Labour ) ever done for us "

( Apart from minimum wage, Open University, National Health Service etc )

:-D

 

And what have the Tories done, Malc.? Tried as hard as they could to destroy all of the achievements of that succession of Labour Governments going back to the great administration of 1945-51!

and why?

To benefit their banking and Bullingdon cronies - in the name of monetarism, (a plague on the memory of Keith Joseph!) 'market forces' 'service industries' (i.e. casino banking) etc., etc.,that's what they have done!

Grr!

 

Colin.

 

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Symbol Owner - 2014-03-13 10:55 AM

 

malc d - 2014-03-13 10:18 AM

Tracker always reminds me of that bloke from the film " Life of Brian "

" What have the Romans ( or Labour ) ever done for us "

( Apart from minimum wage, Open University, National Health Service etc )

:-D

 

And what have the Tories done, Malc.? Tried as hard as they could to destroy all of the achievements of that succession of Labour Governments going back to the great administration of 1945-51!

and why?

 

Colin.

 

 

I think you are being a bit unfair on the Tories Colin.

 

Even now they are helping the less fortunate to buy houses costing up to £600,000 - so give them some credit.

 

:-D

 

As I see it, as long as the ( Loony ) Left and the ( Raving ) Right take turns in government - and don't stay there too long, our "democracy" more or less works.

 

 

 

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malc d - 2014-03-13 11:39 AM

As I see it, as long as the ( Loony ) Left and the ( Raving ) right take turns in government - and don't stay there too long, our "democracy" more or less works.

 

I mainly agree with you Malc., BUT -- the really 'loony' left have never got a look in (fortunately) - look what happened to Michael Foot's Labour party under his leadership -- and he wasn't a loony - he had some good socialist ideas -- like nationalising the banks! The trouble is, Malc, that, since Harold Wilson, no British Gov't. has had even a tinge of 'left' in it ( you can hardly count 'Sunny Jim' Callaghan among their number - can you?) - and they have mostly "Stayed there too long" - '13 years of Tory misrule' (1951-'64), 3 terms of the dreadful Maggie, 1979-90, and, finally three terms of her acolyte ( don't ever say he was remotely 'left wing') Tony Bliar, 1997-2007. Add in the Gov'ts. of Ted Heath and John Major and I don't see much in the way of 'turns' there Malc!

 

Cheers,

 

Colin.

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Symbol Owner - 2014-03-13 10:55 AM

 

malc d - 2014-03-13 10:18 AM

Tracker always reminds me of that bloke from the film " Life of Brian "

" What have the Romans ( or Labour ) ever done for us "

( Apart from minimum wage, Open University, National Health Service etc )

:-D

 

And what have the Tories done, Malc.? Tried as hard as they could to destroy all of the achievements of that succession of Labour Governments going back to the great administration of 1945-51!

and why?

To benefit their banking and Bullingdon cronies - in the name of monetarism, (a plague on the memory of Keith Joseph!) 'market forces' 'service industries' (i.e. casino banking) etc., etc.,that's what they have done!

Grr!

 

Colin.

 

Achievements??????????????????

 

Labour?????????

 

Don't make me laugh - every labour Government has left the country economically buggered (technical term) when it was booted out of office!

 

Winter of Discontent

 

Wilson/Callaghan having to go cap in hand to the IMF.

 

(lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol)

 

Oh yeah!

 

Great Achievements!

 

Sorry - have to go and lay down - laughing so much (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol)

 

 

 

 

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Except, Clive --------- there is just so much more to the life of a nation than just economics -- the financially blinkered of you never seem to understand that, as Malc. indicated, the NHS, the Open University, the legal Aid system, and yes, despite all of the opprobrium heaped upon it by the right-wing press, the welfare benefits system, the building of reasonably-priced rented accomodation after six years of damaging war, free state education for all up to a sensible working age,utilities and transport services for the populace not to line the pockets of foreigners -- yes they were all achievements - mostly thrown away by Tory administrations.

To slightly change the subject - I was saddened by the loss of the old warrior Bob Crow - he had his priorities right -- see here - http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/12/bob-crow-knew-enemy-was-boss-class

 

Colin.

 

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CliveH - 2014-03-13 12:16 PM

Don't make me laugh - every labour Government has left the country economically buggered (technical term) when it was booted out of office!

 

If that really is the case (and I would deem it to be a gross exaggeration) Then how are we still the sixth largest economy in the world?

 

Your laughter is hollow and specious, Clive!

 

Colin.

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Symbol Owner - 2014-03-13 12:52 PM

 

CliveH - 2014-03-13 12:16 PM

Don't make me laugh - every labour Government has left the country economically buggered (technical term) when it was booted out of office!

 

If that really is the case (and I would deem it to be a gross exaggeration) Then how are we still the sixth largest economy in the world?

 

Your laughter is hollow and specious, Clive!

 

Colin.

 

No -it is a belly laugh!

 

I get fed up with the Left telling us that the "achievements" of Labour were the NHS and nationalised industries when I remember just how bloody awful the service from those Nationalised industries was!

 

And now we have the NHS - which I am a great supporter of - but whose crucial Achilles Heel is that to make it work they had to allow GP's to remain Self Employed "Independent Contractors" to the NHS. So the NHS has been "Privitised" by design at Primary Care level since inception in 1948!

 

And AGAIN it was a Labour Government that instigated the new contracts in 2004, tearing up the old "Red Book" and introducing the nGMS contract that allows GP's to NOT provide any reasonable OOH (Out of Hours) service but at the same time upping the earnings of GP's by just over 30%!

 

So thanks to Labour - we have an OOH service that is a joke and also - thanks to the Introduction at the same time by Labour of the PCT's - we all ended up in a Post Code lottery for key treatment options where it was non-medically qualified administrators that dictated to Doctors what treatments the Medics could prescribe!!

 

It took the Coalition to dismantle the muppetry that was nGMS and introduce Commissioning GP's where at last it is now the medical profession in charge of treatment options!

 

And by the cringe - didn't the unions and the lefty hangers on whinge and whine about these changes - being more concerned about THEIR wellbeing rather than that of the patients!

 

To me - all politicians are untrustworthy - the Conservatives were beyond contempt for the sleaze - but the ones that have done the most harm to individuals and the overall economy of this country has been the succession of Labour Governments that each an every time they have been in power, they left the country worse off than when the took over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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malc d - 2014-03-13 10:18 AM

 

peter - 2014-03-12 7:16 PM

 

 

Also -- what about this appalling suggestion -- off the top of his(mop)head?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26413024

And this from someone who represents a party which is supposed to be against the 'Nanny State'?

what Bollox the man talks -- definitely NOT to be trusted!

 

Colin.

Ignore Tracker, for he knoweth not of what he speaks. Just the same old crap about how bad the Labour party are. It all gets rather boring in the end.

 

Tracker always reminds me of that bloke from the film " Life of Brian "

 

" What have the Romans ( or Labour ) ever done for us "

 

( Apart from minimum wage, Open University, National Health Service etc )

 

:-D

How's it go?........................Always look on the sh1te side of life, da da da da da da da da da. (lol)
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Guest pelmetman

Are you back in Blighty Peter?................we arrived home today..........got the first cut of the back lawn done :D...............

 

Which is a bonus as I was expecting the whole of UK to be under water :-|.............perhaps I should not believe the BBC or the Daily Mail :D.............

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Yes Dave we're back. P1ssed off with Eurotunnel though, we have an easylifter m/bike trailer and some French jobsworth said we hadn't paid for the trailer. They charged us the same as for the m/h for a trailer that's 1 mtr long. We've been across twice last year and had no problems. Their pricing structure is plain crazy. You pay the same for a Bedford Bambi as for a 12 Mtr RV, and a 1 Mtr trailer as I've just discovered. >:-)
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Guest pelmetman

YEEeeeeeee Gods...........Sir Peter Tapsell is my MP 8-).....................I could end up with the Moppet as my MP *-).............

 

At least he should boost the UKIP vote ;-)....................

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