Give us our right to a ballot on council housing

Tenants must feel like asking Mr Spencer how there came to be a "massive backlog of repairs to thousands of homes" in the first place. After all, he is Chair of Housing.

Tenants must also feel like asking why Mr Spencer is planning to establish an independent company to run Bolton's council houses? Wasn't he elected to do this?

Councillor Spencer boasts of a "massive investment of around £800 million to be spent in Bolton over the next 30 years". We have been told, for some time, that the council does not have this money.

£130 million (we know about this) it is claimed would be spent over the next three years. Where will the other £670 million come from for the next 27 years? It will come from steadily increasing rents.

Councillor Spencer again boasts -- "There will be a massive injection of money into the construction industry, the biggest in the town's history."

Ah! Now we get it! Tenants pay more money in rent, this will raise funds for the unelected/independent company, which then hands over the money to the independent/private construction industry.

This will result in a direct redistribution of wealth -- from council house tenants to private construction industry fat-cats.

This is why, in contrast with Bolton council's limited consultation, the overwhelming majority of council tenants wish to keep council housing as a public service.

Tenants want a "massive injection of money" into council housing -- not the construction industry.

If Bolton council really wish to serve council house tenants in Bolton, they must give us our right to a ballot on how, and by whom, council housing is run in the future.

David Sumner

Bolton Socialist Alliance

Metfield Place, Bolton