Forum Topic

H&F Plan to Evict Rioters from Social Housing

This might sound like poetic justice but it is not a particularly well thought through policy. Many local mothers from all sorts of backgrounds struggle to cope with difficult teenage sons particularly if they are on their own. It is not the case that they generally  don't try to moderate their sons' behaviour and so this measure will ultimately punish the wrong people. Also the evicted tenants would probably end up living in rented accomodation in the area so apart from giving them an extra sense of grievance little would be achieved.

Karen Cooper ● 5008d6 Comments

Probably. The first e-petition to reach 100,000 signatures and therefore require a debate in the house was proposing stopping benefits for rioters. It got 240,000 signatures. Not a single MP was willing to debate the matter. Apparently back bench MPs are cross that petition questions come out of their limited number of parliamentary questions and they are therefore ignoring them.

Paul Corcoran ● 4943d

Haven't heard any reports of any evictions actually taking place in this borough. One person in Battersea was going to lose his home if he was found guilty. Was this just another example of H&F rhetoric then?

Danny Kopech ● 4948d

The argument for paying benefits to people who could work if they chose to is that if we stop paying them they won't take proper jobs but will turn to crime. This is a flawed argument because these people are already career criminals and as was made plain earlier this month they aren't recognising their side of the bargain.

Danny Kopech ● 4996d

The press coverage of the riots have given something of a misleading impression by focusing on people with jobs or an education who got involved. Only 8.6% of those charged so far were working or students.This means 90% of the rioting was undertaken by a group that make up less than 10% of the population - the unemployed. The majority of these people will be in social housing.I appreciate this is something of a blunt weapon. For instance the first case of someone being evicted means that the rioter's 8 year old sister may have to move home but their former home will be taken by a family not involved in the rioting.The ultimate answer must be to end benefit dependency. We may have a slower economy at the moment but every menial job in London seems to be taken up by an Eastern European with many of the native population happy to live on benefits. There doesn't seem to me to be any reason why a fit person in London should be out of work for more than a year and can we really afford to support them if they are?

Paul Corcoran ● 5000d

I'm not sure it will act as a huge deterrant if it is the offspring of the tenent who is responsible.  I mean how many kids are going to be overly worried that their mother/father will be thrown out of their home.  The chances are the kids are not at home that much anyway.  But I agree something needs to be done.  Bearing in mind some of the looters were from rather privileged backgrounds I believe when they are caught they should be taken to some sort of boot camp for 6 months, run by ex-service men and women, and the kids shown what discipline/respect really is.  On some of the news reports the youths interviewed seem to think they are hard done by, nobody is listening to them, and that they are "owed".  Quite why they feel everything should be handed to them is beyond me.Re the so-called grown ups, ie the school teacher, that was caught looting.....I know our prisons are overcrowded but they should be locked up, sacked from their jobs and no benefits paid to them when they are released.

Carol Burge ● 5007d

'so apart from giving them an extra sense of grievance little would be achieved.'This is wrong as two things will be achieved.Firstly a more deserving family currently on the waiting list will be housed.Secondly the potential loss of social housing will act as a huge deterrant to future disorder making it less likely in the future. Appreciate it is a blunt weapon and some people who are not directly responsible will suffer but I believe they will be the exception not the rule.

Paul Corcoran ● 5007d