http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/story.aspx?storycode=6504925
A quick update - Caroline Flint went (after nine months!), Margaret Beckett went (eight months!) - next it's some chap called John Healey as Housing Minister! Any bets on how long he will last...?
Oh, and his boss is another newbie - John Denham has been appointed communities and local government secretary to replace the - frankly weird - Hazel Blears!
* That tune from Evita where the revolving door sees off a succession of used and abused lovers seems an appropriate soundtrack for this tragedy
Friday 5 June 2009
Wish us luck as you wave us goodbye...!
We wave goodbye to Ms Flint - http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/05/caroline-flint-window-dressing, the only member of the government to have taken the time to come on down to Sussex and have a a bit of a look at the villages these people want to concrete over!
And she heads towards the sunset accompanied by Margaret Beckett - the Beeb website says:
1550 Margaret Beckett is no longer housing minister, the BBC understands.
And she heads towards the sunset accompanied by Margaret Beckett - the Beeb website says:
1550 Margaret Beckett is no longer housing minister, the BBC understands.
Wednesday 3 June 2009
Sign for change - or not?
Now here's an opportunity to dump Eco-Towns, Gordzilla and all those expenses diddlers.
Captain Cameron has launched a webpage - SIGN FOR CHANGE... It sez, 'We want everyone - whether they support Labour, the LibDems, or the Nationalists, or no party - to join in. Through the power of our collective pressure, we can force Gordon Brown to act'.
A far easier option would be to send Patsy round to give Gordo his P45!
Captain Cameron has launched a webpage - SIGN FOR CHANGE... It sez, 'We want everyone - whether they support Labour, the LibDems, or the Nationalists, or no party - to join in. Through the power of our collective pressure, we can force Gordon Brown to act'.
A far easier option would be to send Patsy round to give Gordo his P45!
Margaret Backett's latest press conference
From the Building News website....
Housing minister Margaret Beckett said today it was possible that no eco-towns will end up being built if the government decides not to take forward any proposals.
At a joint press conference this morning with Yvette Cooper, chief secretary of the Treasury, Beckett said that work on eco-towns was progressing, with an announcement expected by the summer.
She would not say how many she expected there to be, but said: “I will say this: that if no schemes meet the standards required then there will not be any names coming forward.
“But, I would be very disappointed, and somewhat surprised, if that was the case.”
She said they had deliberately slowed down the consultation due to the court challenge that was brought by opponents to the scheme, and that “much had been read into that”.
However, Beckett said: “I am sorry in one sense that there are some proposals that have already been judged to be unlikely to reach the standards that we expect.
“But it’s got to meet high environmental standards, and I don’t regret the process.”
The two ministers said they believed the gap between the economic policies of the two parties was “bigger now than at any point since before the Thatcher years”.
Beckett said the Homes and Communities Agency was in the process of deciding which regeneration schemes would receive funding from the £400m Kickstart Housing Delivery Programme announced in the Budget in April.
Bids will be accepted until 8 June, with the successful bidders announced in July.
More than 30,000 people have registered their interest in the government’s HomeBuy Direct scheme, which aims to help first-time buyers by giving them an equity loan of 30% of the purchase price, which is funded between the government and the developer.
Speaking ahead of this week’s European elections, the pair said the measures taken by Labour to kickstart stalled regeneration schemes, boost the economy and help stave off repossessions would help Britain come through the recession “sooner and stronger”.
Cooper accused the Conservative approach to the credit crunch as being “Thatcherism with a smoother sales pitch”.
Housing minister Margaret Beckett said today it was possible that no eco-towns will end up being built if the government decides not to take forward any proposals.
At a joint press conference this morning with Yvette Cooper, chief secretary of the Treasury, Beckett said that work on eco-towns was progressing, with an announcement expected by the summer.
She would not say how many she expected there to be, but said: “I will say this: that if no schemes meet the standards required then there will not be any names coming forward.
“But, I would be very disappointed, and somewhat surprised, if that was the case.”
She said they had deliberately slowed down the consultation due to the court challenge that was brought by opponents to the scheme, and that “much had been read into that”.
However, Beckett said: “I am sorry in one sense that there are some proposals that have already been judged to be unlikely to reach the standards that we expect.
“But it’s got to meet high environmental standards, and I don’t regret the process.”
The two ministers said they believed the gap between the economic policies of the two parties was “bigger now than at any point since before the Thatcher years”.
Beckett said the Homes and Communities Agency was in the process of deciding which regeneration schemes would receive funding from the £400m Kickstart Housing Delivery Programme announced in the Budget in April.
Bids will be accepted until 8 June, with the successful bidders announced in July.
More than 30,000 people have registered their interest in the government’s HomeBuy Direct scheme, which aims to help first-time buyers by giving them an equity loan of 30% of the purchase price, which is funded between the government and the developer.
Speaking ahead of this week’s European elections, the pair said the measures taken by Labour to kickstart stalled regeneration schemes, boost the economy and help stave off repossessions would help Britain come through the recession “sooner and stronger”.
Cooper accused the Conservative approach to the credit crunch as being “Thatcherism with a smoother sales pitch”.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)