Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
The MMA’s Mike Leonard looks at the news of the social housing cuts
Is it a coincidence that the Goverment has decided to leak the news on Social Housing, on a day when media coverage is dominated by the looming cuts in defence?
Apparently we are to cut the social housing budget by half at a time when we are significantly under delivering and have a shortfall of at least one million homes!
This is devastating news for the 5 million people on council waiting lists and for the manufacturers, merchant and builders who will not now be required to build the homes we so badly need.
This will result in a major loss of jobs in building materials manufacture and construction sectors and further misery for those waiting for a home to live in.
With no homes and no jobs many people will lose their personal pride and an increase in acquisitive crime and even civil disorder may result. All this at a time when the government has failed to pursued the banks to lend to small business and those wishing to buy a home that have saved a realistic deposit.
When will the political leaders learn that we have to stimulate the industry and employment in the UK rather than trying to stage an imported goods recovery on the High Street.
The Get Britain Building Campaign led by the BMF, MMA, FMB and British Precast has published a Plan B which sets out the value of the construction sector to UK PLC. The recovery of the economy will depend on jobs and this sector is the only one that can offer quality employment of 2.5 million people
Mike Leonard is director of the Modern Masonry Alliance
