TORY COUNCILS UNDER ATTACK ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING

11.36.12am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 10th Jul 2007

The first Prime Minister's Questions session for Gordon Brown on Wednesday highlighted the Premier's call for affordable housing to be a key priority for his Government. Local MP, Paul Keetch, was in the Commons and commented,

"When a question was raised by the Member of Parliament for Chester on the provision of affordable housing in her constituency, I was not astonished to hear her begin to explain that Tory councillors in the area were blocking development of homes for local people.

"I have some sympathy with her as the Tory Council we have in Herefordshire is equally poor in supporting the need for local affordable homes as demonstrated in its mishandling of the Bullinghope housing proposals - not an affordable property in sight!

"So I was glad to hear the PM uphold the Lib Dems call to make housing affordable for so many who cannot get their feet on the housing ladder and to emphasise that all local authorities, including the Conservative controlled - like Herefordshire - must find ways to deal with this."