A place of our own

Judah will be inhabited for ever (Joel 1:20) 
Around us it feels like the housing market is booming. Rumour has it that all those empty properties will soon be filled. It is hard not to wonder if we shall be overrun with Londoners finding a bolthole from the pandemic, but personally I don't mind. Please just give us some new neighbours. We really like the current ones but our street is looking very empty at night.
There is a downside, of course. If our lovely villages become popular with wealthy urbanites then the prices will skyrocket. Frankly they're out of reach of anyone under 55 anyway, but who on earth will be able to buy them now. Well rich Londoners of course, and that's lovely as long as they join in village life. Certainly not poor vicar's children (or vicar's poor children), or farmer's sons, or care worker's daughters, or even care workers, or teachers, or... Yes I could go on. That's the problem with property. As soon as it becomes a desirable place to live then usually you can't afford to live there any more.
So what's the solution? Israel had a good one. Every family gets some land and land stays in the family, reverting back to them every 50 years, however badly or brilliantly anyone has done in the meantime. No one can keep getting poorer and poorer, and no one can keep getting richer and richer. Effectively you're all renting from God. It's his land and every so often he parcels it up fairly.
So the idea of Judah being inhabited for ever is not just about blessing from the land, but also about justice for its people. It is a symbol of an equitable society where everyone has security and significance. The land is theirs and it will produce all they need.
I think all of us long for our nation to find a way to do the same. A minimum wage that really pays the bills. Access to housing that doesn't mean an eternity in unmanageable debt. A universal credit that does what it says on the tin and provides a safety net for the most vulnerable. Homes for the homeless. Student grants not student debts. 
Oddly that's why dear old Jeremy wanted to go back to the 70s, for it marked a time when such things were done well. Yes the UK was an indebted economic basket case (or so they say) but we did get some things right. In the current rush to opening up our markets to ever more voracious corporations, I am hoping we don't loose sight of what we did well before we joined the EU. And maybe a start might be property, houses built for local people locally by local authorities. Just a thought.

A view across the city of Bath


Location: United Kingdom

Comments

  1. Julie S13 June 2020 at 08:56

    Alas, there are not enough people who would be prepared to sell their homes at affordable prices. It is exactly the same in the seaside villages. Local people realise that they can ask extortionate prices for their homes from 'outsiders'. Then everyone complains because their villages are empty, most of the year. It needs to start with us. I sold a previous home to a family member which was affordable for them, not the 'market' price. I wonder what would happen if everyone did the same?

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    Replies
    1. George Moody13 June 2020 at 13:11

      We were always impressed by Aber Dovey council, who at some point in the past, had put covenants on some lovely housing which meant it was only available to people with a long-standing local connection. The houses had about half the value of the open market, but were all the better for it. I'm not sure why more councils don't do it.

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