Clear Tory rule met with relief by property chiefs
Property industry leaders started to react to the General Election result in broadly confident tones, welcoming the stability of a majority government and ongoing Northern Powerhouse agenda.
Conrad O'Neill, director of surveyors Canning O'Neill in Manchester: "I believe it is good news for the commercial property industry that we will have a Government with a majority, albeit slim, rather than a coalition. This will allow the Government to implement the policies affecting the industry in full, as long as it keeps its back-benchers in line! We have already seen from the Conservatives some progressive policies which will benefit the north of England and the voters have clearly shown confidence in the Tories to keep a steady hand on the tiller of the Economy – which can only be good news for the property industry. In addition, further reductions in public spending should hopefully see the relocation of more Government jobs and operations to the North."
Mark Rawstron, regional senior director of advisors Bilfinger GVA: "We will look back at this election and view it as one of the most momentous in recent history. A clear rejection of the politics of envy espoused by Labour by English voters, and a ratification of a wealth creation direction of travel, financial stability and debt reduction.
"But how different North of the Border, are we heralding the break- up of the Union despite a clear majority in favour of retaining. The stresses and strains at Westminster will quickly come into sharp focus with SNP replacing Labour almost 100 per cent. Can a party committed to independence be a cohesive force at Westminster? Can Labour ever win an outright majority again without regaining some ground in Scotland?
"In a regional context the devolution agenda will be very important with devolved powers to some regions a central theme of the Conservative's pledges. The existing city deals announced should be expanded to reinforce and develop economic performance in the regions.
"Manchester is well placed to guide this agenda having already commanded great respect with initiatives already agreed. It would appear Manchester and the North West have George Osborne's ear so hopefully we can achieve even more for the benefit of the region. Hats off to our regional politicians in this regard."
Steve Errington, chief executive of Cumbrian housebuilder Story Homes, said: "Story Homes welcomes the election of a majority Conservative Government who have already made a commitment to deliver much-needed new housing throughout the country.
"Under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition we saw the introduction of the Help to Buy ISA and the Help to Buy Scheme which has been extended until 2020. These schemes have allowed many new homeowners to access home ownership and we're pleased their future is certain.
"We would like the new Government to look at supporting affordable mortgages and a return to high loan-to-value mortgage products. A normalisation of a 5% to 10% deposit for customers would help to stimulate housebuilding.
"With the National Planning Policy Framework embedded in most local authorities, government support to ensure that planning departments are resourced to prevent a bottleneck would be a prudent move.
"This has been a real issue in times of austerity for local authorities and, since the austerity measures were put in place, we have noticed that applications are taking longer to process.
"Story Homes would also like to see the Conservative Government continue and further its commitment to resourcing the skills needed in the home building industry. Any initiative to promote and increase apprenticeships and vocational training would be warmly welcomed by house builders."
Blooming ‘eck Mark – don’t hold back, tell us how you really feel.
By nmnt
Bold statement from Grimleys….
By Ed
A nakedly political statement there from GVA and one which is highly debatable. Personally, what this result means to me is 5 more years of corporate welfare and free market dogma justified on the basis of a discredited notion of ‘trickle down’ economics. What we will see is an ever more fractured society, increasing numbers of market failures as policy is driven by the concerns of a small number of large corporate interests and increasing inequalities. Not a good day.
By J. M. K.
I guess it depends on how big your house is when you talk about "envy".
By Ian Jones
No, Mark. You are not a political analyst, you’re opinions should be restricted to the property arena. Silly mistake for a man of such experience.
By Client
….. And the quotes from Story Homes illustrates precisely the sort of corporate welfare we are likely to see more of under the new regime. Let’s have a return to high loan-to-value mortgages (i.e. encourage punters to load themselves up with debt again) with the risk underwritten not by the banking sector or property developers but the public sector. You can guarantee that you won’t see a big upswing in supply but you will see it feeding through to house prices, further consolidating wealth with the wealthy. Great! Welcome to Tory Britain.
By J. M. K.
Not all of us in property and construction feel this way. Now the 1922 committee are free to steer the government, let’s see if the interests of all the country really will be looked after.
By Gene Walker
J.M.K – all opinions political or otherwise are debatable. Whats your point? Everybody is entitled to an opinion. One of the most frustrating things to come out of this election is that it is fine to have an opinion if you are left leaning, however if you stand to the right then you cannot say anything without getting shot down (usually venomously)
By Liberal Conservative
63% of the electorate didn’t vote for this government. That is a clear majority.
By Jonty
Well said Liberal Conservative
By SLD
Of course all opinions are debatable, it’s just surprising to see a someone in a commercial organisation make such a partisan statement as though it was accepted fact. "Politics of envy", [enemy of] "wealth creation", these are the sort of statements regularly trotted out by the right wing press and rarely are they challenged or subject to proper scrutiny. When anyone does so they are often subjected to misrepresentation or abuse. So actually Liberal Conservative, the situation is the opposite to how you portray it.
By J. M. K.