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(3)
This situation has long affected working local people in areas of high housing costs in the UK,
meaning they are priced out of the market. Some tenants and leaseholders in these areas face
having their homes subject to being compulsory purchased so that the estates can be demolished
and “regenerated” into expensive homes that neither tenants nor leaseholders can afford to rent or
buy. This appalling hypocrisy is a form of social cleansing of decent working class people and
traditional Labour voters that resulted in prosecution of Dame Shirley Porter of Westminster many
years ago in the “homes for votes” scandal. This Conference supports estate regeneration where the
primary aim is to improve conditions for existing tenants and leaseholders and opposes it where the
aim is for private developers to cash in and make loads of money while existing tenants and
leaseholders face being kicked out of their homes.
(4)
This BGCM deplores the lack of social housing being provided by the present Government, is
aware of the affordable housing crisis and believes much more should be done to build more
affordable homes. This Conference calls for GFTU affiliates to:
•
call on the Labour Party to investigate using council homes as a cash machine to bridge f
unding gaps.
•
give local authorities the right to actively purchase houses from the open market, e.g. ex-c
ouncil houses and empty properties to increase the stock of social housing in their area
•
call on the Government to provide funding for a major house-building programme to build s
ocial housing to meet these needs and as a consequence provide thousands of much
needed jobs to boost devastated local economies.
•
actively campaign for the reintroduction of policies such as the Fair Rent Act and to pressure
the Labour Party to commit to a sustained building programme once in power, to publicise
services available which will help those faced with housing difficulties.
Resolution 6
UK Manufacturing
(1)
This BGCM is appalled at the deeply unpatriotic way that the Coalition Government is
running down UK manufacturing, in favour of foreign ownership of British industry and using free
market globalisation as the reason. This Conference calls on the government to support the
manufacturing industry. The policy of pure competition in the world market is leading to a decline in
UK manufacturing
(2)
The last thirty years has seen the increasing tide of the free market and globalisation, which
has eroded the British manufacturing base, seen privatised UK services and increased foreign
ownership of key parts of the UK economic infrastructure
(3)
This BGCM believes that the UK Government should ensure, through its own procurement,
but also giving a lead through a drive to buy British, that all must be done to reinvigorate and restore
UK manufacturing.
(4)
This Conference calls
•
on the GFTU to campaign for greater support for our Manufacturing Sector
•
for the GFTU and affiliates to lobby for an unequivocal commitment to reverse Coalition
procurement methods where everything is based on price and to commit to processing
goods and services in government from companies based in the UK.