By relaxing rules on planning permission, the Tories are doing nothing for tenants or our high streets
Landowners of Britain, rejoice! Your government has not forgotten you. Magnanimous and generous as it is, it has dedicated the vast public resources at its disposal to a noble cause, that of increasing the value of the property you own. Planning is relaxed, taxation reduced and subsidies introduced, all with the effect of increasing the already high prices of land and buildings in this country.
The government doesn’t put it like this. Its departments and ministers say that “we can help the high street to adapt and thrive for the future” or that its policies “will help support the creation of much-needed homes” or that first-time buyers will have a better chance to get on the property ladder. But the most certain effect is that often substantial windfalls arrive in the balance sheets of those who already own.
