Is it that bad news stays in the mind longer than good news. Is it hard for a government to actually create good news. Looking back on the week recollections are about council housing which was sparked by David Cameron last week, stamp duty to insulate houses, David Camerons overseas speeches.
Logically it might be thought that council houses are for those most in need and if your income rises to a certain level then you should make space for someone else. On the other hand many, if not most, people live where they are comfortable with the neighbours and environment. It is said that changes will only be for new tenants, but isn’t it likely they also will want to stay in the same place. Also there is a risk that an area might become only for the most needy and it might turn into some kind of ghetto where the occupants post code is one where normal services are rejected. Overall can’t say this policy sits well, although it is said not to be a coalition policy as the LibDems are very much against it.
The other piece of news that stayed in my thoughts was the proposal to use stamp duty to as an incentive to insulate your house. When the coalition came in they immediately stopped HIP’s and it appeared a more free future was on the horizon. Yet with this statement already the creeping hand of bureaucracy is straying back where it needn’t.
Thirdly Mr Cameron has made some interesting speeches overseas and David Miliband came out saying he was naively headline grabbing and using a big stick where light touch is the norm. Maybe this is the good news because it can also be said that Mr Milibands light stick did nothing over many years. Can anyone name an achievement of his time in the Foreign Office?