Campaigners raise housing concerns (From York Press)

I'm so sick of protesters, I'm thinking of forming a protest group campaigning against them, I wonder if Graham would head it up for me?
He's a good egg but he does have a habit of cropping up at every possible protest.

Mr Bayley, instead of asking for "York to be made a special case" and asking for more housing benefit money, try asking our council which is controlled by your party to try negotiating with the private landlords they use to get the rents down first. When I say negotiate I mean tell them they accept the maximum you are allowed to pay or subsidise or they find tennants who can afford what they are charging now, I'd say a good percentage will not risk their properties standing empty. The situation you lament is much like the council tax in York, ie unlike the majority of local authorities they asked for more money before really trying to make savings.

‘The York Welfare Campaign group collected 500 signatures on the petition, which has been handed to York Central Labour MP Hugh Bayley.
The petition says Government changes to the housing benefit system mean many people in York are unable to pay their rents. ‘

So 500 people have admitted to living beyond their means and are expecting the taxpayer to fill the gap that they used to, they are not happy that others are no longer supporting them!


‘A report published by Shelter last October showed York to be the most unaffordable city in the Yorkshire and Humber region for private rents. ‘

That’s because property prices are high, no one has a right to live where they choose, that’s just the capitalist system, and nobody said it was fair. Get real.


‘Mr Bayley said he agreed with the campaign group, adding: “York needs to be treated as a special case for the calculation of housing benefits.” ‘

Its always the case that the whingers are ‘ a special case’.

Did they think taking the photo outside the job centre plus would carry some extra kudos? Perhaps some of the 500 should actually go into the job centre and get one!

Perhaps these people should take some responsibility for their own actions and lives like the rest of us and stop attempting to be classed as ‘special’. Grow a spine the lot of you, nobody has a free ride in life someone has to pay and it seems that for too long the taxpayer has been carrying others who will not or can’t be bothered whilst hiding behind being ‘special cases’


‘Mr Udigawa says...
9:03am Wed 30 May 12
I'm so sick of protesters, I'm thinking of forming a protest group campaigning against them, I wonder if Graham would head it up for me?
He's a good egg but he does have a habit of cropping up at every possible protest.

Perhaps York would not be as expensive if we had more houses built and demand and supply were balanced BUT as we have been saying for years this councils affordable policies all but prevent housebuilding and are making the problem worse
BUT do blinkered politicians listen..Of course not... as what they have been told is basic common sense and they don't have any

A couple of things : I don't think you can totally blame York's shortage of affordable housing on the Council- i think central government policy should take the brunt of the blame.
As for people living beyond their means and the inane comments about the capitalist system- i think you are the one who needs to get real- what good will it do to anyone if there a hundreds of homeless people after they are unable to pay the differences in rent. As we live in a welfare state it will cost more to rehouse them than pay for the difference in housing benefit. Not to worry though, i sense a u-turn on the horizon after the first few evictions.

just let them all live in the Mayor's limo when it's not being used for official business!

I was one of the 500 who signed the petition when approached by the protestors in town last weekend. I'm not affected by the housing benefit changes but I listened to what they said and agreed with them that the cuts are going to cause real hardship for some people.

Anotherslownewsday wrote:
A couple of things : I don't think you can totally blame York's shortage of affordable housing on the Council- i think central government policy should take the brunt of the blame.
As for people living beyond their means and the inane comments about the capitalist system- i think you are the one who needs to get real- what good will it do to anyone if there a hundreds of homeless people after they are unable to pay the differences in rent. As we live in a welfare state it will cost more to rehouse them than pay for the difference in housing benefit. Not to worry though, i sense a u-turn on the horizon after the first few evictions.

I don't think there will be many evictions though, some people affected will cut down on drinking, smoking and Sky Tv packages in order to keep their houses, some will negotiate rent reductions and others will move to cheaper towns.

Bayley has been predicting scores of people leaving the city carrying their belongings on their backs for months now, one wonders whether he'd be as quick to criticise this move if Brown were still in number ten and it was his idea?