Introduction

In an important speech on welfare reform on 11 October 2004, Tony Blair claimed that:

Blair listed seven challenges, of which housing was the last and least detailed, continuing a pattern of paying only marginal attention to this important determinant of well-being (Blair, 1998, 2002). However, the theme of this chapter is that in 2004 housing was at the leading edge of welfare reform, and that as such it provides a valuable window on the implications of an opportunity society. Twenty-five years ago, the introduction of the right to buy rapidly privatised a million council houses and led to a steep decline in the supply of accommodation to let at prices that were affordable by people on low incomes. It also led many academic commentators to the view that housing was becoming a residual service and the ‘wobbly pillar’ under the welfare state (Torgersen, 1987; Harloe, 1995; Lowe, 2004). But, if the assault on housing during the 1980s was exceptional by comparison with other services (Le Grand, 1991), subsequently there has been a convergence around a trend towards privatisation, provider markets, consumer choice and individual responsibility for personal and family well-being. With 80% of housing consumption in Britain mediated by the market mechanism, it provides a good arena in which to assess the implications of an opportunity society.

Existing commentaries (Cowan and Marsh, 2001; Ford, 2003) have noted the continuities in housing policy either side of the 1997 General Election, reflecting a new orthodoxy that was in place before the change of government. This is not to argue that all governments are the same, nor to deny the distinctiveness of the policies of the post-1997 Labour government. But, in the context of a review of developments within one year, it is important not to become too focused on change at the expense of continuity.