We must keep SHOUTing for social housing

I became so concerned that I began to write about the slow death of social housing in these pages and elsewhere.

As I expressed my concerns in public and on social media, I came into contact with others who shared the same view.

I met Alison Inman (now president of the Chartered Institute of Housing) to discuss how we could challenge the government and the housing sector to raise the profile of social housing and its tenants. This led to a meeting in Grantchester, Cambridgeshire with Aileen Evans (now chief executive of Grand Union Housing Group) and housing consultant Colin Wiles, and the Social Housing Under Threat (SHOUT) campaign was born.

“You can’t build social rent homes without public investment.”

Mr Wiles drafted the first manifesto and we began to encourage others to join.

SHOUT is a loose federation of people who share a common concern about the threat to social housing. We don’t always agree on every issue but we are united in our support for social housing and its tenants.

The official launch took place in Westminster and received lots of support from many in the housing sector, including politicians of all parties.

SHOUT takes a cross-party stance. Many in the sector challenged our approach.

SHOUT believes that the main way to overcome the housing crisis is by government investment in social housing.

Not just because it provides homes for those in need but because it makes financial sense to do so. Two years ago SHOUT published a piece of independent research which proved this beyond doubt. It concluded that it was financial myopia for the government not to invest in social housing.

Despite this, many housing leaders continued to ignore SHOUT’s message.

But elsewhere, support for SHOUT continued to grow.

More began to accept that its arguments were sound and that there was no other way to build social rent homes at the scale required.

Changes in government have eventually led to changes in thinking.

In 60 seconds: Theresa May’s speech

This has created a change in the debate in the housing sector and some leaders began, slowly at first, to talk about the need to invest in social rent homes again.

Finally the National Housing Federation publicly supported this call at its recent conference.

The government’s response has been to announce a small increase in investment in affordable homes, some of which might be social rent.

“There will not be real change until all the threats to social rent are removed and both councils and housing associations are supported with public funds.”

It is still not enough, as government funding is still heavily weighted towards ownership, but it is a start. Many in the sector have welcomed this with open arms.

My personal view is that it is too early to do this. Social housing is still in crisis.

There will not be real change until all the threats to social rent, including the Right to Buy, are removed and both councils and housing associations are supported with public funds to build 100,000 social rent homes per year.

Some, including Inside Housing’s deputy editor Martin Hilditch, have recognised SHOUT’s role in keeping “the flame alive both publicly and in lobbying behind the scenes in those wilderness years”.

I must admit that there were times that we appeared to be a lone voice.

Now we are no longer isolated, I believe that SHOUT and the whole sector need to continue to lobby until this government, or the next, finally realise that you can’t build social rent homes without public investment. The secretary of state mentioned recently that Harold Macmillan was one of his heroes.

I look forward to him emulating Super Mac further, by announcing substantial public investment in social and council homes.

It went some way to solving a housing crisis in the 1950s. It would do so again today.

Tom Murtha, founder member, SHOUT