A construction worker, talking to Leith Walk Ward election candidate (May 2022) Richard Shillcock, compared greenfield new-builds springing up outside Edinburgh and new city-centre luxury apartments. “The irony is, they’re made of the same stuff—concrete, plasterboard, metal fixings. Neither are built to last. And the same short-cuts get made—painting over mould that’s grown during building…” Shillcock said “We need good, affordable homes for young people, not a rigged property market providing investment opportunities for the richest 1%. Edinburgh Council should:
- Get on with the job of delivering the social housing already planned. But we need much more.
- Restore the council’s Direct Labour Organisations (DLOs). Bring design and development experts back in-house.
- Use DLOs for a massive retro-fitting of insulation on all housing.
- Reverse the Right to Buy (RtB) tide. Give the Council first refusal on ex-RtB properties that come up for sale.
- Bring tenants organisations like Living Rent into the heart of council decision-making.
- Start bringing Registered Social Landlords back under the democratic control of the Council.
- Use rent control to bring rents down to realistically affordable levels.
Join the dots! Housing connects the crucial issues of cost of living, apprenticeships, sustainability, and democratic ownership and control.” The Communist candidate added “The Communist Party has always fought for decent housing as a right. For homes in well-resourced communities. We have always campaigned for council housing, as the best solution. We have always stood for tenant’s rights, working alongside tenants’ unions.”