Inverclyde Housing Stock Transfer (HST) ballot result

Fri, 1 Dec 2006

Today it was announced, following a three weeks long ballot that Inverclyde Council tenants had voted yes to transfer their homes from local council control to a private company River Clyde Homes Ltd. Jim MacLeod, vice-convener of Inverclyde SNP (speaking on behalf of the anti-HST campaign which was led by the local SNP) said: "We are of course saddened by this result.  For the last few months we have been out on the streets and in our communities giving the other side to housing stock transfer. "To date we have seen this Thatcherite/Blairite led housing policy, which is in place to destroy not only public sector housing but to further dismantle and destroy our public sector, warmly embraced by the Lab/Lib Scottish Executive, and locally supported by Labour and Lib Dem councillors.  We feel that this whole housing stock transfer agenda is a discredited policy. "Of course the SNP wanted Inverclyde's housing debts scrapped.  Of course we wanted to see investment going in to address the horrendous housing problems we have here in Inverclyde, which is due to 30 years of neglect.  We just believe that this funding should have been made available without blackmailing tenants into transferring their homes over to a private company. Mr MacLeod continued: "While we have seen HST kicked firmly into touch by council tenants in other parts of Scotland this year - in Edinburgh, Stirling, and Renfrewshire and only last week in Highland's council, it is unfortunate that tenants in Inverclyde have voted yes for transfer.  But it is hardly surprising to see tenants do so here as they have seen their homes fall into shocking conditions due to 30 years of neglect by continuous Labour and Lib Dem councils, aided and abetted by 30 years of Tory and Labour UK governments, and 8 years of a Lab/Lib Dem Scottish Executive (these governments having starved public sector housing of much needed funding).  The tenants have voted to be free of Labour and Lib Dem control! "We now want to know how much of the tax payers money was spent by River Clyde Homes and the council in persuading council tenants to transfer their homes over.  Inverclyde SNP will be holding River Clyde Homes Ltd to account over the coming months and years to ensure they keep their promises to Inverclyde's 7,600 tenants."