The Green Party pledge to outlaw private landlords, which was widely ridiculed when revealed last autumn, is reported to be on the way out.
The Financial Times says the party will scrap that and other outlandish policies as it makes itself a more realistic option should there be a coalition government after the next General Election.
Last October’s Green Party annual conference passed a resolution “to seek the effective abolition of private landlordism.”
To achieve this the Greens would put more regulation and taxes on private rentals, impose rent controls, abolish buy-to-let mortgages and give councils the ‘right to buy’ a rental property at a discount when it is up for sale.
They would also levy national insurance on rental income – a measure that has also been considered by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves and activist groups like Generation Rent.
The FT reports that the Greens’ most likely route to power would be via a coalition, possibly with the Labour Party, and says to prepare the way the Greens are “downgrading some of their more controversial policies.”
The FT says other policies likely to be chopped include reducing the UK speed limit to 55mph and a migration policy to reflect “a world without borders”.
Instead the Greens would concentrate on reducing the cost of living – including housing costs – as well as adopting proportional representation voting and advocating stronger climate control policies.
This article is taken from Landlord Today