Latest Moan From You and Me 2025

Its not just holiday areas it even happens here, its why we have a housing shortage, it started with people buying to rent about 30 yrs ago.
Now its people cash rich moving out of London, sell a flat and buy a 4 bedroom house.

I dont think there is an answer, but I think there needs to be a clampdown on second homes in holiday areas, turning a house into a business should attract more tax.

 

Buy to let does at least provide homes. The problems come when holiday lets bring in more money so tenants get evicted or the lack of formal rules and controls mean landlords can evict one tenant to raise the rent.

There is, quite simply, a lack of provision, especially of good quality social but also decent private housing in the UK so prices are ludicrous and availability sadly lacking and no political will to fix it.

 

But … if buy-to-lets are purchased by US asset management companies, for example, while this does potentially create a supply of homes for local people, the rents are often high, which pushes up both other rents and house prices in the area, reducing affordability. Also, though the value of the properties increases over time, none of these assets are accrued by local people. So both the profits now and asset value in the future are siphoned out of the local economy, leaving it worse off.

 

The short term letting market e.g. AirBnB has had a huge impact. In some parts of the country people can't find a property to rent/buy at all, no matter how much money they have available.

 

There are a few houses to rent here and at £2000 a month things have got slily now

 

Scotland has brought in registration requirements for the majority of short term lets. If that was brought in either locally or nationally in England & Wales it might help ease the housing problems for local people.

 

Local authorities in Wales can charge a lot more council tax for 2nd homes, although there are some exceptions. The holiday house next door to someone I know is being sold because of it, and I hope someone local buys it. At the moment it is empty for most of the year

 

If we ever needed proof that wars are regarded as mere playthings by the elites who start and perpetuate them, the fact that cessation can miraculously be agreed as soon as it suits is surely ample illustration, and the pretence that the current “negotiations” are running down to the wire with everyone involved working oh so hard because it is oh so difficult, all hanging in the balance, is a further duplicitous layer on top.

Utterly nauseating behaviour with zero regard for human life and the casualties inflicted along the route. And only possible because the complicit media will not call it out for what it is.

 

Israel is already making it clear that even if the "ceasfire" goes ahead, the war is not at an end. It's a simple swap of prisoners/hostages from one side to another. Biden and Trump are already vying for the credit as to Who Stopped The War.

 

It would be naïve beyond belief to think Hamas will ever stop killing Israelis or that the Israeli extreme right will ever forgive and forget. Added to that are the fortunes to be made by the manufacturers, shareholders and traders of arms that fuel wars for profit, knowing that the repercussions will affect others and not themselves.

An agreement that gets the hostages back is therefore to be encouraged but no-one should think it will be a permanent solution to end conflict.

 

I don't think i've every known that there isn't any fighting in the middle east

 

I think it would be naive beyond belief to think that either side in the war between Israel and Hamas will ever forgive and forget. The current escalation in the on-going conflict, as in on-going since the state of Israel was created, is a direct result of the 7th October 2023 attack in which hundreds of civilians were murdered. I think any community would have difficulty in forgiving or forgetting that. The innocents on the other side will almost certainly feel the same way.
Hamas has stated that it wants to eliminate Israel which isn't the best of starting points for any meaningful negotiations. No, I don't claim to have any of the answers.

 

Yes very strange that the cease fire may come into effect on Sunday the day before Trump takes office.
I'm not about to take sides but the Israelis would need some living with.

All these settlements and spreading out they have done over the years has done nothing to help reduce tensions.
They have had US backing, I think they are running scared that to some extent that might now stop, so are more amenable to a cease fire, without US arms it would have stopped a long time ago.
But its Politics.

 

Not only Us backing….