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 to the NHS have been deliberately increased in the past few years. So the pressure to drop some part of the welfare state has been overpowering. As this is politics, the best bit to choose was naturally a part that had ceased to be all that popular anyway, and council housing fitted the bill.
Margaret Thatcher started the ball rolling, by offering council houses and flats for sale to tenants at big discounts. But even under Maggie, more new council houses were built each year than during the entire eight years we have had of Tony Blair. That is the measure of how far the Labour Party has gone in renouncing council housing.
One problem with all the money that used to be spent on providing council flats was that, within a few years, it would disappear down the drain. Or to be more precise, would be blown up. In 1979 three tower blocks in Birkenhead were the first to fail so completely that it was decided they couldn't be saved, and a crowd gathered together for their ceremonial demolition. Many more followed. In 2002, Birmingham City Council announced
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| Even under Maggie, more new council houses were built each year than during the entire eight years of Tony Blair |
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that it intended to demolish 300 of its tower blocks.
These decisions were unsurprising given the way many large council estates became places where the inhabitants were alienated and walls were covered in graffiti. Rubbish (and worse) was left lying around, lifts were broken and older people cowered in their flats in fear. The buildings were badly designed to begin with, by people who would never dream of living in such places, and a lack of ownership led to a lack of pride in keeping common areas in good condition.
The recent French riots started off in out-of-town council estates. Damilola Taylor was killed on a council estate (which has since been re-developed at huge expense). While it is true that some estates have had long runs of civility, the overall record is a bad one. The quiet shelving of council house building was a politically motivated decision. It was nevertheless the correct one. 
FIRST POSTED NOVEMBER 21
James Bartholomew is the author of The Welfare State We're In (Politico's, £18.99)
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