We could quite easily go out into the countryside on the edge of many of our towns and buy up the land at agricultural prices then award ourselves a planning permission based on building model houses that are the result of an architectural prize with the prize being awarded by the first 200 people in the phonebook rather than fashionable architects
An enlightened dictator always gets stuff done better than the accountability committees of democracy. But for this to work, we’d need to indemnify the one-man committee from the inevitable enquiry/lawsuit/retrospective judgement process that makes such decision-cowards of us all.
As above: put it in the manifesto, plain as day, and then do it. Don’t like it? Then stand against it and get elected! Otherwise - out of my way, a job needs doing!
This argument will attract the riposte “what about democracy?” But also it works if you have someone good in charge, but just as Edward I have way to Edward II, sometimes there'll be someone be someone rubbish. That’s presuming there’s agreement on what good looks like (NIMBY? Modern architecture? No architectural thought whatsoever? Building in market squares etc or pack in the houses? are some obvious points of contention).
How should these be addressed?
But yes we bloody ought to be more demanding. But the system is screwed - low quality politicos, civil servants and journalists contrive to ensure that the choices are poor, nobody understands what went wrong and the electoral system prevents new choices arising.
I think this is less of a problem than you imagine. Put it in the manifesto ‘we’re really going to tackle the housing shortage’, get elected, and then do it. ‘The British people put me here to do this! What’s your mandate to stop me?’
We could quite easily go out into the countryside on the edge of many of our towns and buy up the land at agricultural prices then award ourselves a planning permission based on building model houses that are the result of an architectural prize with the prize being awarded by the first 200 people in the phonebook rather than fashionable architects
An enlightened dictator always gets stuff done better than the accountability committees of democracy. But for this to work, we’d need to indemnify the one-man committee from the inevitable enquiry/lawsuit/retrospective judgement process that makes such decision-cowards of us all.
As above: put it in the manifesto, plain as day, and then do it. Don’t like it? Then stand against it and get elected! Otherwise - out of my way, a job needs doing!
This argument will attract the riposte “what about democracy?” But also it works if you have someone good in charge, but just as Edward I have way to Edward II, sometimes there'll be someone be someone rubbish. That’s presuming there’s agreement on what good looks like (NIMBY? Modern architecture? No architectural thought whatsoever? Building in market squares etc or pack in the houses? are some obvious points of contention).
How should these be addressed?
But yes we bloody ought to be more demanding. But the system is screwed - low quality politicos, civil servants and journalists contrive to ensure that the choices are poor, nobody understands what went wrong and the electoral system prevents new choices arising.
Gah…I may have answered my own ripostes.
I think this is less of a problem than you imagine. Put it in the manifesto ‘we’re really going to tackle the housing shortage’, get elected, and then do it. ‘The British people put me here to do this! What’s your mandate to stop me?’