Who will property people Vote for? by Graham Norwood

Published: 04/04/2010 - 10:12

Who might the property establishment vote for? It may not be who you think. Read more here from our guest writer Graham Norwood.

Who will property people vote for?

Whisper it quietly but there is a subversive theory doing the rounds about Britain’s property establishment – it might just want Labour to win the election.

Readers of a certain age will recall the ‘80s and ‘90s when developers and Estate Agents were in bed with the Conservatives so much, they were almost living together.

But now separation is on the cards. The reason? The Conservatives have policies that are popular with voters but are less so with property insiders. For example:

When 37 UK business chiefs backed Conservative tax plans this month, there were representatives from the retail, IT, engineering and service sectors – but not house building.

A month earlier the Home Builders’ Federation described Tory proposals to devolve planning decisions to local communities as “high risk” and the outspoken Bill Oliver of the developer St Modwen dismissed it as “change for change’s sake.”

A pressure group called Building Futures, including housing players like Countryside Properties and huge commercial developers like Land Securities, now warns that the Conservative Party plans may “encourage NIMBYism and put development at risk.”

Property consultancy King Sturge says the Conservatives have opposed so many recent housing and regeneration schemes, that they cannot credibly support similar proposals in power, so may thus “miss the chance to lead on development.”

Savills’ CEO, Rupert Sebag-Montefiore, has been even more forthright, calling Tory planning devolution “ridiculous” – and choosing to say so at a meeting of journalists.

You get the message by now. The property industry is suspicious of change, wherever it comes from.

There are, of course, plenty of property people devoted to Conservatives – especially those who pay £2,500 to join the party’s Property Forum – but as we near the end of the Blair-Brown era, there is a feeling that agents and developers have actually done rather well from new Labour.

A few will say that has been because Labour created a ‘pro-building’ climate.

More likely, I think, is that Labour never cared about property (private, public, rented or owned). There were nine housing ministers in 13 years and some lasted just a few months. Most of the time, therefore, the property industry just got on with it.

Cameron’s team, ironically, looks more interventionist and it may now be time for the property industry to explain what it does, and why.

It’s going to be an interesting few years…