13 September 2002
In comments clearly directed at the trade union sponsored group, Defend Council Housing, junior housing minister Tony McNulty accused transfer opponents of hijacking ballots and 'standing onthe sidelines throwing rocks' rather than coming up with constructive ideas of their own.
Speaking at a conference on neighbourhood renewal in London on September 6, McNulty said: 'I'm saddened when the debate is hijacked by people for political reasons rather than offering tangible, sustainable alternatives for the people whose lives they are playing with.'
A transfer was one of the best ways of raising money for regeneration, he told delegates, and it was wrong to compare a housing association with a 'gangster doing time'.
'It's not Maggie Thatcher Inc or some privatised dreamland,' he said.
Later the minister declined to name any particular area where a ballot result had been influenced by the sort of tactics he had identified in his speech.
But some authorities are having second thoughts about whether to hold ballots, following the rejection of a transfer in Birmingham and government suggestions that borrowing restrictions may be relaxed for councils that hold on to their stock.
Ironically, Defend Council Housing has welcomed many of the government's recent proposals for reforming housing capital finance.
Alan Walters, a spokesman for the group, said ballots were about democratic debate.
'Most of the people pushing transfers are politicians and bankers – not council tenants,' he added.
PFsep2002
