Big Capital: Who Is London For? (Anna Minton)

Anna Minton

Big Capital: Who Is London For?

A very interesting, insightful and ultimately depressing book about a subject that we all know about but even so gives an excellent analysis with a wealth of information about the London housing crisis. A lot packed into a short book which gives an introductory analysis of the London housing / land market as an investment tool for wealthy foreigners (although to be fair the British have played the game for long enough) who buy housing off plan simply to make a profit. Goes through some of the reasons including the government’s ridiculous tax incentives in this market, regulations banning local authorities from building council houses and subsequent deals boroughs make with developers whereby they undervalue land to lessen the amount of social and affordable housing they have to build with no recourse to right the wrongs when once built the housing unsurprisingly is a lot more valuable. Although the book blames the latter on the boroughs to be fair they’ve been so badly squeezed between austerity cuts and central government neo liberal “market is king” regulations that they are therefore between a rock and a hard place. Will be interesting to see if the current London mayor makes a difference. I probably can’t say too much on this as I work for a GLA development agency but I do understand something of the goals of those who work in this area in the public sector, who could jump to the private sector for a lot more money, and the restrictions that they find themselves having the operate within.

The book also takes a more personal view of the crisis visiting and interviewing those at the sharp end either living in poor quality housing, if they’re “lucky”, and those fighting against demolition of their social housing homes to make way for expensive apartments in private blocks which may contain a few social or affordable flats (see comment above about developers) with separate entries like the old servants and tradesmen entrance. The other commentary is how inner London boroughs push residents out to cheaper accommodation in outer London, whilst those borough push their residents out to the suburbs and the domino effect of those going to the home counties and then farther afield. All a result of colliding and crazy housing and social benefit policies. Crazy from the citizens point of view but not from business as the all conquering “market forces” which aren’t really that due to the involvement of government regulation ensuring that market forces help the rich and push those who are less well off further down into the mire.

I’m one of the lucky ones as are many of my age group having settled in London in the 80s and having a decent career and being able to buy a house in the 90s. In a way it’s quite nice thinking that my ordinary flat in a terraced road in Balham is worth a fortune and that would be pretty well off and sold up, retired and moved to somewhere cheaper. A lot don’t have that choice. But I don’t want to have to move out of London and if I did I’ve still got 3 kids who will be looking to live somewhere and won’t be able to afford anything near decent in London in the foreseeable future. The book does go a little way into how to improve the situation but there’s not a lot of analysis on that and to be fair it’s pretty obvious what needs to change, i.e. reverse all the trends that the book talks around. Although depressing government intervention of a radical (for London, not for other large cities) could change the situation around within a generation if not less. Although my flat may fall in value if it meant that my kids could afford to live near me (I mean within the north or south circular) if they wanted then I would take the hit to my personal wealth as measured on paper but not realisable until I shuffle off this world into the next where I’m assuming having a roof over my head won’t be a worry. A simple head stone will suffice. Preferably in London if land prices haven’t turned all the graveyards into luxury flats which is not unknown as witness the battle to keep the Cross Bones graveyard in Borough.