WP4 Portfolio: Text of Letter to MP Felicity Buchan
Dear Felicity Buchan MP,
I feel that I should open by noting that this is the first time that I have been compelled to write to my MP, which I hope illustrates the gravity of my concern with this issue.
I am a university student, who was recently tasked with looking at a local issue affecting my city and working to find a solution to it. The issue that I ultimately settled upon was the housing crisis afflicting London, more specifically, the impact of rampant foreign investment into our city’s real estate market.
This type of investment is not, in my view, inherently bad. However, as my work has found and any person who has spent a significant amount of time in London will have found, its ramifications can prove catastrophic. The prospect of a tremendous inflow of tax revenue for the government is, I understand, appealing.
What cannot be ignored however is the devastation it causes to communities. Average house prices in the city have risen above £500,000 for the first time this year while over 250,000 Londoners sit on waitlists for council housing. High net-worth foreign individuals and corporations investing in our city is a catalyst for rapid gentrification which has stripped much of London of the cultural diversity and charm for which it is loved both nationally and internationally.
As a young person hoping to be employed in the city that I grew up in, the prospect of ever being able to get on the property ladder here is next to impossible, and only trending further in this direction year on year.
It is evident that the Conservative governments of the last decade, including this one, have not perceived this issue with adequate concern. Years of austerity measures have crippled many in this city, and Chancellor Sunak’s most recent budget is further affirmation of this government’s lack of commitment to tackling this issue. Manifesto after manifesto has promised measures such as affordable housing, and yet Westminster continues to fail to deliver. The unfortunate truth is, this government and its predecessors have been happy to turn a blind eye to murky foreign investment, seduced by its promise of tax revenue, while neglecting the people and communities that they promise to serve.
What concerns me particularly as a resident of this constituency is the rise in so called ‘ghost’ houses. On a recent walk through Notting Hill, a gem of our borough, I could not help but notice how many of the houses and new build apartments were blatantly unoccupied in the midst of the school year. This is a phenomenon that replicates itself throughout our city. It troubles me that, as thousands in London sleep on the streets or await housing that the government has consistently failed to build, multi-million-pound homes lie empty for most of the year. This is square footage that, if properly utilised, could go a long way toward solving both aforementioned issues. Regrettably, there are no measures or legislation in place to dissuade such individuals from making these exorbitant, unnecessary purchases. As the economy has stalled in the midst of this pandemic, the crisis for the most vulnerable only worsens.
I write to implore you to take action on this matter, and pressure Downing Street to effect meaningful change. This includes far tougher vetting of who and where foreign capital is streaming in from, regulation mandating quotas of affordable housing for each new development as has been effective in Finland, and mandates for new tenants to occupy their houses for minimum periods in each year. There are of course, a myriad of different steps that could be taken in addition to this. A minimal starting point would be raising taxes on ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their purchases in order to, at the very least, force them to think about buying homes they do not need.
I know that this frightens the established order of things but the city, and the country, benefit in the long run. The short-term loss of tax revenue from the sale of luxury homes would lift a substantial portion of the population from poverty or survival into prosperity. Filling our city with a diverse collection of people and young, driven professionals who have newfound disposable income would reinvigorate life in the city. In other words, reducing the cost of living would actually propel the economy and drive more tax revenue for the government than ever before.
I was not of voting age at the time of the most recent general election but will now be ahead of the upcoming one. It is my sincere hope that I will see action on your part in relation to this matter, as I may otherwise have to look to other parties who present a greater sense of capability in tackling this issue. It is one that is gravely affecting our city’s and country’s younger generations, an increasingly vital demographic in our political system. I therefore believe that it is in this government’s interest to address it seriously, if they intend to remain in power.
