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Big Capital: Who Is London For?
The inside story of London's housing crisis, by the award-winning author of Ground Control
London is facing the worst housing crisis in modern times, with knock-on effects for the rest of the UK. Despite the desperate shortage of housing, tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of affordable homes are being pulled down, replaced by luxury apartments aimed at foreign investors. In this ideological war, housing is no longer considered a public good. Instead, only market solutions are considered - and these respond to the needs of global capital, rather than the needs of ordinary people. In politically uncertain times, the housing crisis has become a key driver creating and fuelling the inequalities of a divided nation. Anna Minton cuts through the complexities, jargon and spin to give a clear-sighted account of how we got into this mess and how we can get out of it.
London is facing the worst housing crisis in modern times, with knock-on effects for the rest of the UK. Despite the desperate shortage of housing, tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of affordable homes are being pulled down, replaced by luxury apartments aimed at foreign investors. In this ideological war, housing is no longer considered a public good. Instead, only market solutions are considered - and these respond to the needs of global capital, rather than the needs of ordinary people. In politically uncertain times, the housing crisis has become a key driver creating and fuelling the inequalities of a divided nation. Anna Minton cuts through the complexities, jargon and spin to give a clear-sighted account of how we got into this mess and how we can get out of it.
154 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
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650 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
September 13, 2017
If you want to know how and why the Grenfell Towers burnt like a savage birthday candle, then this book provides the answer. The housing crisis - not a cliche a reality - is presented with stark, ruthless precision in this book. Lives are shredded. Intricate political economies are crushed. Working environments are being hollowed from innovation, spark and potential.
What has happened to London via real estate capitalism is the visible undergarment of the dark days ahead for second and third tier cities. The choices about where we live and work are being taken from us through the neoliberal movement of capital, but also neglectful urban planning policies.
This book makes me want to drown myself. The hopelessness is palpable. But unless we read and understand the crisis of housing, thousands of people are going to die.
On the day I complete this review, 20 people who 'survived' Grenfell have attempted to commit suicide since the event. Only two residents have been permanently rehoused.
This is the story of Big Capital.
What has happened to London via real estate capitalism is the visible undergarment of the dark days ahead for second and third tier cities. The choices about where we live and work are being taken from us through the neoliberal movement of capital, but also neglectful urban planning policies.
This book makes me want to drown myself. The hopelessness is palpable. But unless we read and understand the crisis of housing, thousands of people are going to die.
On the day I complete this review, 20 people who 'survived' Grenfell have attempted to commit suicide since the event. Only two residents have been permanently rehoused.
This is the story of Big Capital.
November 17, 2018
Minton manages to squeeze a huge amount of information into a clear, concise and understandable format in a fairly short book. The key thing about the current housing crisis is the intersection between land, capitalism, taxation, political ideology, planning practice and past and present decisions in all areas. She successfully covers these in brief, tying them together into a fairly accurate narrative as to the ‘whys and hows’ of where we are today. In this sense it’s a must read.
However, there are other texts - from practitioners and academics alike - already doing this and at times I felt that she fell into the habits of alarmist and (slightly) lazy, finger-pointing journalism. For example, the smug (lack of) reveal in the opening chapter that local authorities spend time talking to private investors. At the very least acknowledge the context: Local Authority grant funding cuts mean that many are on their knees and in some cases shutting up shop altogether. Given this, restrictions on borrowing, legislation that forces right to buy but prevents the use of its receipts, whether we like it or not, to get any homes built or things like you know, schools, roads, GPS, they need to pay ball with the development industry. To do that you have to actually talk to them. She does talk about these issues later on in the text, but it is all under this banner of poor ideological choices from Councils - which I don’t agree is always the case. Rather than a belief in social cleansing, many councils are making decisions that are harmful because there are so few doors open. The book needed an entire chapter on that alone. We already have a terrible relationship in the UK with local democratic processes being blamed for the macro context and a lot of that is press led. This book doesn’t help in this regard.
The concise explanation of the planning system and its history was pretty impressive, though some things were a bit questionable. Financial viability has been poorly handled in the past through its hasty introduction coming at a time when most councils were decimating planning and housing departments, resulting in a lack of skills to get to grips with it, rather than some bizarre conspiracy to outwit communities.
Some statements are also just categorically wrong, like the threat of starter homes, which have been unpopular politically and in the industry alike (thankfully). Similarly, widespread estate regen has not solely been down to high priced land. Years of financial neglect, sped up through grant restrictions, complicated by pepper potted private ownership and coupled with the fact that a lot 60s/70s/80s social build programmes had architectural failings that can’t be fixed, has meant that stock replacement on the only land where local authorities had control.
Whilst this concept of ‘sink estates’ is politically charged and misrepresentative (I agree), there are plenty of residents groups that speak of severe problems of manifested crime. In this regard Minton argues her point that things have been extremely misrepresented, whilst she’s also misrepresenting. This stuff is all nuanced and it deserves in places a more balanced narrative.
Finally, her criticisms of secure by design as part of an unjustified ideology are a little far fetched. This concept includes basic things like ‘eyes on the street’ whereby you try to design in a way that people provide natural surveillance. This is not some random untested theory, it’s proven (and obvious!) community based planning with the concept coming from the great Jane Jacobs herself.
Although I seem to have more criticisms than positives, I grow tired of the blaming of the wrong enemy. Whilst more powers need devolution (I agree with the final chapter) the system needs the biggest overall from the top down. Any distraction from that argument is to my mind counterproductive. Notwithstanding, the flow and historical info means this is worth a read.
However, there are other texts - from practitioners and academics alike - already doing this and at times I felt that she fell into the habits of alarmist and (slightly) lazy, finger-pointing journalism. For example, the smug (lack of) reveal in the opening chapter that local authorities spend time talking to private investors. At the very least acknowledge the context: Local Authority grant funding cuts mean that many are on their knees and in some cases shutting up shop altogether. Given this, restrictions on borrowing, legislation that forces right to buy but prevents the use of its receipts, whether we like it or not, to get any homes built or things like you know, schools, roads, GPS, they need to pay ball with the development industry. To do that you have to actually talk to them. She does talk about these issues later on in the text, but it is all under this banner of poor ideological choices from Councils - which I don’t agree is always the case. Rather than a belief in social cleansing, many councils are making decisions that are harmful because there are so few doors open. The book needed an entire chapter on that alone. We already have a terrible relationship in the UK with local democratic processes being blamed for the macro context and a lot of that is press led. This book doesn’t help in this regard.
The concise explanation of the planning system and its history was pretty impressive, though some things were a bit questionable. Financial viability has been poorly handled in the past through its hasty introduction coming at a time when most councils were decimating planning and housing departments, resulting in a lack of skills to get to grips with it, rather than some bizarre conspiracy to outwit communities.
Some statements are also just categorically wrong, like the threat of starter homes, which have been unpopular politically and in the industry alike (thankfully). Similarly, widespread estate regen has not solely been down to high priced land. Years of financial neglect, sped up through grant restrictions, complicated by pepper potted private ownership and coupled with the fact that a lot 60s/70s/80s social build programmes had architectural failings that can’t be fixed, has meant that stock replacement on the only land where local authorities had control.
Whilst this concept of ‘sink estates’ is politically charged and misrepresentative (I agree), there are plenty of residents groups that speak of severe problems of manifested crime. In this regard Minton argues her point that things have been extremely misrepresented, whilst she’s also misrepresenting. This stuff is all nuanced and it deserves in places a more balanced narrative.
Finally, her criticisms of secure by design as part of an unjustified ideology are a little far fetched. This concept includes basic things like ‘eyes on the street’ whereby you try to design in a way that people provide natural surveillance. This is not some random untested theory, it’s proven (and obvious!) community based planning with the concept coming from the great Jane Jacobs herself.
Although I seem to have more criticisms than positives, I grow tired of the blaming of the wrong enemy. Whilst more powers need devolution (I agree with the final chapter) the system needs the biggest overall from the top down. Any distraction from that argument is to my mind counterproductive. Notwithstanding, the flow and historical info means this is worth a read.
July 7, 2017
With timing that could not be more poignant, this is a tale of (chiefly one of) two cities, told from the angle of the dispossessed. Author, teacher and activist Anna Minton has a story to tell and she lays it out in six concise chapters.
First she hitches a ride (and takes you along) on an investor’s tour of London. You go shopping along with the sundry oligarchs and ultra-rich investors who are looking to park their money in London property. The point you must take away from the tour is the following: housing is no longer about living, it is first and foremost about investing, and therefore that’s what drives its price. So stop talking about housing as if it were affected by the means Londoners command or the needs they must satisfy. You would never apply those criteria to Monaco, would you?
Next comes a brief history of social housing in the UK, starting with Aneurin Bevan in 1948, via the imposition and annulment of the “betterment levy,” the shift to home ownership initiated by Margaret Thatcher’s “Right to Buy” and “Buy to Let,” all the way to David Cameron’s demand-side support via “Help to Buy.” The main focus is on the fact that the government has shifted from building 100k homes a year to merely imposing via Section 106 the building of affordable housing via quotas on new developments, and from there to today’s disgrace that are the zero-transparency ways to circumvent those requirements via “financial viability” studies, all in the interest of attracting private investment.
The third chapter deals with the main victims of this frenzied competition to attract private money: Local councils are busy exercising their rights as freeholders to buy out the predominantly underprivileged owners of council flats at prices tragically below market and simply evicting the rest, demolishing their homes and selling at a profit to private developers whose alleged affordable home quotas are either circumvented via “financial viability” studies or alternatively fulfilled with apartments offered at prices that are four times what the bought-out tenants were paid. This results in forced mass migrations of the original tenants, with untold effects on their financial stability, health, mental health, families, communities etc. The story of a few tenants is told who have resorted to justice (with mixed results) and others who have simply chosen to take what they’re given.
An additional chapter is dedicated to the travails of former Londoners who have literally gone from being housed to having to accept an entirely insufficient housing subsidy. Plentiful examples of, mainly, mothers are given who cannot stitch a life together off of the benefit, and the point is made one more time that this is a demand-side benefit. Much like the supportive tax regime --never really mentioned in the book at all in any one of its three main forms, namely (i) that imputed rent is not taxed on home ownership, (ii) that there are no capital gains on your main residence or (iii) that until recently interest on home loans was tax deductible-- much like “Right to Buy,” much like “Help to Buy,” a housing benefit does not solve the problem by supplying more homes, it merely shifts the demand curve to the right and therefore becomes self-defeating and progressively more expensive, without actually doing anybody much good. (I must note here that the author is having it both ways: either these demand-side measures are pushing prices up or the foreign investors are pulling them up in a market that does not care about supply and demand from people who live in London, but perhaps she got a bit too carried away in chapter 1)
A brief fifth chapter deals with two issues: the fact that those who’ve missed the boat on home ownership are now slaves to those who didn’t (the story about how the latter may be slaves to the bank and at risk of a market crash that leaves them upside-down is not a concern to the author) and the fact that being left out of a home may be a violation of your rights and certainly can lead you to mental health issues. (It sounds a lot better if you don’t distill all this into one paragraph)
In the final chapter of the book, the author first takes you on a brief tour of housing-related activism in London and then, finally, tries to hunt for solutions. Looking through the lens of the concept that we all have a “right to the city,” she proposes a set of measures to help address the capital’s housing problem: reform of the planning system, with an emphasis on openness within well-funded local government, a re-think of how the state should intervene (think “supply” rather than “demand”), incentives to self-build and a mindset to work with what’s already there, rather than demolish.
So this is a very incomplete book: no talk about real estate representing between 70% to 80% of bank balance sheets in the UK, indeed not a single mention of any bank other than the Bank of England, no talk about the whole country being a real-estate scheme, though she does mention that a third of MPs are buy-to-let landlords, no mention of the fact that the base-rate is set administratively rather than via market forces, indeed zero focus on the private market. And, yes, very facile of me to say so post Grenfell, but there’s not a word here on safety and how it’s been neglected. And a fundamental question is not addressed: Please, have some back bone, tell us why you think the councils are selling: is it because they desperately need the money to operate, or is it because the councilors are on the take? I guess the Grenfell enquiry stands a decent chance of arriving at some answers. (and then again, perhaps not)
On the plus side, it’s straight from the heart and it’s very much a “horse’s mouth” account by an author who lives and breathes her stuff and if it was titled “what sucks about public housing in the UK today and how we can fix it” you’d have to say that (modulo the blind spot on safety) it’s very complete, if perhaps unnecessarily leftward-leaning.
But the author could not resist the word-play of calling it “Big Capital.”
It is, regardless, a must-read.
First she hitches a ride (and takes you along) on an investor’s tour of London. You go shopping along with the sundry oligarchs and ultra-rich investors who are looking to park their money in London property. The point you must take away from the tour is the following: housing is no longer about living, it is first and foremost about investing, and therefore that’s what drives its price. So stop talking about housing as if it were affected by the means Londoners command or the needs they must satisfy. You would never apply those criteria to Monaco, would you?
Next comes a brief history of social housing in the UK, starting with Aneurin Bevan in 1948, via the imposition and annulment of the “betterment levy,” the shift to home ownership initiated by Margaret Thatcher’s “Right to Buy” and “Buy to Let,” all the way to David Cameron’s demand-side support via “Help to Buy.” The main focus is on the fact that the government has shifted from building 100k homes a year to merely imposing via Section 106 the building of affordable housing via quotas on new developments, and from there to today’s disgrace that are the zero-transparency ways to circumvent those requirements via “financial viability” studies, all in the interest of attracting private investment.
The third chapter deals with the main victims of this frenzied competition to attract private money: Local councils are busy exercising their rights as freeholders to buy out the predominantly underprivileged owners of council flats at prices tragically below market and simply evicting the rest, demolishing their homes and selling at a profit to private developers whose alleged affordable home quotas are either circumvented via “financial viability” studies or alternatively fulfilled with apartments offered at prices that are four times what the bought-out tenants were paid. This results in forced mass migrations of the original tenants, with untold effects on their financial stability, health, mental health, families, communities etc. The story of a few tenants is told who have resorted to justice (with mixed results) and others who have simply chosen to take what they’re given.
An additional chapter is dedicated to the travails of former Londoners who have literally gone from being housed to having to accept an entirely insufficient housing subsidy. Plentiful examples of, mainly, mothers are given who cannot stitch a life together off of the benefit, and the point is made one more time that this is a demand-side benefit. Much like the supportive tax regime --never really mentioned in the book at all in any one of its three main forms, namely (i) that imputed rent is not taxed on home ownership, (ii) that there are no capital gains on your main residence or (iii) that until recently interest on home loans was tax deductible-- much like “Right to Buy,” much like “Help to Buy,” a housing benefit does not solve the problem by supplying more homes, it merely shifts the demand curve to the right and therefore becomes self-defeating and progressively more expensive, without actually doing anybody much good. (I must note here that the author is having it both ways: either these demand-side measures are pushing prices up or the foreign investors are pulling them up in a market that does not care about supply and demand from people who live in London, but perhaps she got a bit too carried away in chapter 1)
A brief fifth chapter deals with two issues: the fact that those who’ve missed the boat on home ownership are now slaves to those who didn’t (the story about how the latter may be slaves to the bank and at risk of a market crash that leaves them upside-down is not a concern to the author) and the fact that being left out of a home may be a violation of your rights and certainly can lead you to mental health issues. (It sounds a lot better if you don’t distill all this into one paragraph)
In the final chapter of the book, the author first takes you on a brief tour of housing-related activism in London and then, finally, tries to hunt for solutions. Looking through the lens of the concept that we all have a “right to the city,” she proposes a set of measures to help address the capital’s housing problem: reform of the planning system, with an emphasis on openness within well-funded local government, a re-think of how the state should intervene (think “supply” rather than “demand”), incentives to self-build and a mindset to work with what’s already there, rather than demolish.
So this is a very incomplete book: no talk about real estate representing between 70% to 80% of bank balance sheets in the UK, indeed not a single mention of any bank other than the Bank of England, no talk about the whole country being a real-estate scheme, though she does mention that a third of MPs are buy-to-let landlords, no mention of the fact that the base-rate is set administratively rather than via market forces, indeed zero focus on the private market. And, yes, very facile of me to say so post Grenfell, but there’s not a word here on safety and how it’s been neglected. And a fundamental question is not addressed: Please, have some back bone, tell us why you think the councils are selling: is it because they desperately need the money to operate, or is it because the councilors are on the take? I guess the Grenfell enquiry stands a decent chance of arriving at some answers. (and then again, perhaps not)
On the plus side, it’s straight from the heart and it’s very much a “horse’s mouth” account by an author who lives and breathes her stuff and if it was titled “what sucks about public housing in the UK today and how we can fix it” you’d have to say that (modulo the blind spot on safety) it’s very complete, if perhaps unnecessarily leftward-leaning.
But the author could not resist the word-play of calling it “Big Capital.”
It is, regardless, a must-read.
September 8, 2017
Yet another grim update on how bad Britain is right now. 2 stars because I couldn't honestly say I "liked it", but it does its job. I went over to Elephant & Castle to look at the development there and saw there are stickers from local protest groups; won't stop anything though. I suppose a Calamity Brexit of the sort that Fox/Davis/Johnson are determined to cook up might inadvertently slam the brakes on what's going on.
August 19, 2023
Gloomy, and depressing, but in the end there is a slimmer oh hope if the UK has a shred of will to change what is going on..
if not, London - you are doomed.
if not, London - you are doomed.
Read
June 9, 2018Anna Minton dispels the myth that greater deregulation of the housing market would benefit prospective buyers and the average Briton, as "it may seem logical enough to argue that if we increase housing supply then the prices will come down and there will be more homes to go around, but the UK housing market doesn't function like a pure market; it is linked to global capital flows, not local circumstances. Global flows are distorting the market and ensuring supply is being skewed towards the investors."
Minton argues that simply building more homes would not bring prices down (the opposite of scarcity= +value), but the "hugely inflated value of land in London is a direct result of the glut of foreign investment in the more expensive parts of the city." Because as more and more land gets bought abroad, there is less of it and that which remains becomes even more expensive, given that London land is in such high demand. Immediately after the financial crisis, supply fell and with it- house prices! Showing that the housing market does not abide by the supply/ demand framework.
Minton also demonstrates the exaggerated prices attached to houses; "if the price of food had increased at the same rate as house prices in the last forty years, then today a chicken would cost more than £50, [in] London, that chicken would cost £100."
"Regeneration" has become PR spin for the phenomenon of gentrification which is overwhelmingly state-led and is "the wrong terminology for a state-sponsored demolition programme." Councils sitting on valuable land constantly try and entice residents away, offering them paltry sums for their houses which are sitting on valuable and marketable land. Councils consistently neglect repairs and let estates go into ruin, in an attempt to drive residents out; "cash-strapped councils spend vast sums on legal battles with residents and sell prime land for a fraction of its value."
Minton also talks about the growth of Airbnb which "removes properties from the rental market while keeping prices high," whilst also reinforcing the notion that houses are financial assets and investments rather than places to live. Additionally, as the owner of a property, renting out your flat on Airbnb is far more lucrative and less risky than renting out your property long-term. Tenants have rights; tourists not so many.
A market-led approach to public goods is what has created our housing crisis; it is time to take back the city!
Minton argues that simply building more homes would not bring prices down (the opposite of scarcity= +value), but the "hugely inflated value of land in London is a direct result of the glut of foreign investment in the more expensive parts of the city." Because as more and more land gets bought abroad, there is less of it and that which remains becomes even more expensive, given that London land is in such high demand. Immediately after the financial crisis, supply fell and with it- house prices! Showing that the housing market does not abide by the supply/ demand framework.
Minton also demonstrates the exaggerated prices attached to houses; "if the price of food had increased at the same rate as house prices in the last forty years, then today a chicken would cost more than £50, [in] London, that chicken would cost £100."
"Regeneration" has become PR spin for the phenomenon of gentrification which is overwhelmingly state-led and is "the wrong terminology for a state-sponsored demolition programme." Councils sitting on valuable land constantly try and entice residents away, offering them paltry sums for their houses which are sitting on valuable and marketable land. Councils consistently neglect repairs and let estates go into ruin, in an attempt to drive residents out; "cash-strapped councils spend vast sums on legal battles with residents and sell prime land for a fraction of its value."
Minton also talks about the growth of Airbnb which "removes properties from the rental market while keeping prices high," whilst also reinforcing the notion that houses are financial assets and investments rather than places to live. Additionally, as the owner of a property, renting out your flat on Airbnb is far more lucrative and less risky than renting out your property long-term. Tenants have rights; tourists not so many.
A market-led approach to public goods is what has created our housing crisis; it is time to take back the city!
March 11, 2018
For the few, not the many: London’s housing problems summarised in a terse, rather grim monograph. Will it change anything? Probably not, as if international capital has us by the short and curlies now, fuck knows what it’ll be like after Brexit - being shaved round the knackers with a cut throat razor, in all probability. And Minton doesn’t deal with a key point - London keeps on growing, with consequential need for ever more housing, and people don’t seem in the least deterred by cost until they get here. You don’t really need a UK Border “Force”. Just explain to people in graphic detail the costs of home ownership and they’ll run for the hills. A cogent addition to the debate, the sad thing being no one seems to be listening.
February 3, 2021
I would give 3 and a half stars if possible. Really interesting and damming critical examination of the UK housing market. Only really picks up in the final half chapter two was a tricky read with what felt like an entire page of numbers.
August 4, 2023
4.5 stars - could have been more tightly written but rounding up bc the info is so important and well researched
December 12, 2021
A must read if you want to understand the current predicament for London residents. The book is a relatively short read so would recommend, it shows the power imbalance between Londoners, local authorities and private developers. However, Anna writes from a perspective that hope rather than gloom for a better housing future for Londoners
May 29, 2024
A polemic with a passion for defending the social injustice of London's housing. Anna Minton puts forward the argument that London's housing policy is rigged towards the elite and that ordinary people have been systematically pushed out of the capital in favour of wealthy developments favouring rich investors.
The first chapter looks over how super wealthy investors have been able to buy up significant amounts of housing in London and taken over streets. This has helped drive out people, making London unaffordable. These ultra-wealthy individuals have bought up significant amounts of housing stock and are in effect driving out people by gentrification. Unlike gentrification in many cities, this leads to entirely empty houses which are never used. These "alpha" people hence drive the housing crisis by never having homes which are occupied at all.
The second chapter really sums up the problems of housing in the UK; ending council housing, selling off the old council houses and not replacing it. A clear chart demonstrates that between 1967 and 1985 house construction went down from 350,000 to 200,000. Anna Minton puts forward the argument that housing was not built for homeownership and that the UK had low amounts of homeownership. What I found fascinating is that my beloved land value tax or more specifically a land improvement tax was abolished under the 1980s Financial "Big Bang" which led to massive increases in the cost of home prices on London by about 500%.
Anna Minton does not simply look at the data; she looks at personal stories affected by the clearing of social housing in London, where occupiers were given low amounts of money in compulsory purchase orders only for them not to afford new houses. This led to resentment among many different people as Blairite Labour Southwark council tore down lots of council housing and drove poor people out of London.
Big Capital is a strong argument against gentrification in that gentrification doesn't lead to better housing policies but contributes to the housing crisis. The arguments about how to solve this seems reasonable such as a tax on foreign property investors, a land improvement tax. Of course, much of this problem would be solved by my beloved of all policies; a land value tax of 3% which would heavily disincentivise housing and land speculation that plights the capital of London.
A fantastic and short polemic on London's housing problems.
The first chapter looks over how super wealthy investors have been able to buy up significant amounts of housing in London and taken over streets. This has helped drive out people, making London unaffordable. These ultra-wealthy individuals have bought up significant amounts of housing stock and are in effect driving out people by gentrification. Unlike gentrification in many cities, this leads to entirely empty houses which are never used. These "alpha" people hence drive the housing crisis by never having homes which are occupied at all.
The second chapter really sums up the problems of housing in the UK; ending council housing, selling off the old council houses and not replacing it. A clear chart demonstrates that between 1967 and 1985 house construction went down from 350,000 to 200,000. Anna Minton puts forward the argument that housing was not built for homeownership and that the UK had low amounts of homeownership. What I found fascinating is that my beloved land value tax or more specifically a land improvement tax was abolished under the 1980s Financial "Big Bang" which led to massive increases in the cost of home prices on London by about 500%.
Anna Minton does not simply look at the data; she looks at personal stories affected by the clearing of social housing in London, where occupiers were given low amounts of money in compulsory purchase orders only for them not to afford new houses. This led to resentment among many different people as Blairite Labour Southwark council tore down lots of council housing and drove poor people out of London.
Big Capital is a strong argument against gentrification in that gentrification doesn't lead to better housing policies but contributes to the housing crisis. The arguments about how to solve this seems reasonable such as a tax on foreign property investors, a land improvement tax. Of course, much of this problem would be solved by my beloved of all policies; a land value tax of 3% which would heavily disincentivise housing and land speculation that plights the capital of London.
A fantastic and short polemic on London's housing problems.
September 12, 2017
I bought a range of books on contemporary issues recently and this one really stood out. Anna Minton chronicles the housing crisis that seems to have plagued not only London but other metropolitan areas across the country too.
What could have been dense information lacking humour (after all, who under 30 living in London can really afford to buy their own home?) was surprisingly accessible and provided a wealth of information that both comes as a surprise and yet sounds all too familiar.
Minton's impeccably researched study is packed with anecdotes and interviews from residents of London estates. Young urban professionals resort to 'beds-in-sheds' following the governments 'Affordable Housing' programme that deems £450,000 an affordable starting range for first time buyers, and the growing epidemic of exporting homelessness from London around the country makes the subject so much more chilling. Minton fuses together boring governmental policies and politic-speak to the gritty reality of those whose lives are shattered by them to remind readers of how fast communities and family life are being broken down and traded in for foreign investment.
However, Minton's work isn't just an observation of a situation so many of us think we already understand, she offers an alternative by noting ways in which our European neighbours approach their own housing crises, and how we need to stand together as local and national communities to ensure that social and affordable housing in London remains a right for all and not just the privileged.
A great read that doesn't once seem like too much information despite covering many interrelated topics.
What could have been dense information lacking humour (after all, who under 30 living in London can really afford to buy their own home?) was surprisingly accessible and provided a wealth of information that both comes as a surprise and yet sounds all too familiar.
Minton's impeccably researched study is packed with anecdotes and interviews from residents of London estates. Young urban professionals resort to 'beds-in-sheds' following the governments 'Affordable Housing' programme that deems £450,000 an affordable starting range for first time buyers, and the growing epidemic of exporting homelessness from London around the country makes the subject so much more chilling. Minton fuses together boring governmental policies and politic-speak to the gritty reality of those whose lives are shattered by them to remind readers of how fast communities and family life are being broken down and traded in for foreign investment.
However, Minton's work isn't just an observation of a situation so many of us think we already understand, she offers an alternative by noting ways in which our European neighbours approach their own housing crises, and how we need to stand together as local and national communities to ensure that social and affordable housing in London remains a right for all and not just the privileged.
A great read that doesn't once seem like too much information despite covering many interrelated topics.
November 17, 2022
chapter 1
It describe how super-rich - “high net worth individuals ”- and their money abroad change the assert property of London after ‘quantitive easing’量化宽松。compared to New York, it has 18% more these individuals.
these people may comes from Russian, Middle Eastern,Chinese, Asia. Some money are corrupt money. London may be their second home. They may live here for just few weeks each year but may have second house staff from 菲律宾。
the model “buy to live” to “buy to let, buy for the children, buy to leave”
And the displacement and super gentrification negatively influence the local, local community and the majority. The expensive houses are relevant to everyone actually, which go against the benefits of free market and fast cash flow boosted by the rich, and claps the UK government of building new apartments to ease housing crisis.
The author also raise a question “what is the line between the housing crisis of the majority and the stateless MBA beings” and the tax exiles who don’t have to work because their property portfolio earns far more than they ever could?
It describe how super-rich - “high net worth individuals ”- and their money abroad change the assert property of London after ‘quantitive easing’量化宽松。compared to New York, it has 18% more these individuals.
these people may comes from Russian, Middle Eastern,Chinese, Asia. Some money are corrupt money. London may be their second home. They may live here for just few weeks each year but may have second house staff from 菲律宾。
the model “buy to live” to “buy to let, buy for the children, buy to leave”
And the displacement and super gentrification negatively influence the local, local community and the majority. The expensive houses are relevant to everyone actually, which go against the benefits of free market and fast cash flow boosted by the rich, and claps the UK government of building new apartments to ease housing crisis.
The author also raise a question “what is the line between the housing crisis of the majority and the stateless MBA beings” and the tax exiles who don’t have to work because their property portfolio earns far more than they ever could?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2017
I appreciate Anna's method to investigate the housing problem hidden behind London, especially the strong caring for people who are suffering in it.
China also faces the similar dilemma not only in big cities but also covering little towns. More seriously, Chinese people prefer to have their own house traditionally, which means many choices have to be impacted if they cannot guarantee to own their own house, such as work and marriage. The property industry has brought an amazing contribution to China's GDP growth with a heavy price when someone suddenly gets rich and someone looks like no any possibility to buy one in big cities like Shanghai within current salary.
Anna's book supplies a special perspective which I think can deliver to China's dilemma then homeless people may become visible and gain more attention to negotiating their deserved right.
Thank you, Anna!
China also faces the similar dilemma not only in big cities but also covering little towns. More seriously, Chinese people prefer to have their own house traditionally, which means many choices have to be impacted if they cannot guarantee to own their own house, such as work and marriage. The property industry has brought an amazing contribution to China's GDP growth with a heavy price when someone suddenly gets rich and someone looks like no any possibility to buy one in big cities like Shanghai within current salary.
Anna's book supplies a special perspective which I think can deliver to China's dilemma then homeless people may become visible and gain more attention to negotiating their deserved right.
Thank you, Anna!
March 22, 2025
I feel this book leans too much into the emotional journalism bits. I sort of understand this - it highlights the very human effects of London’s housing crisis. But it relies in it too much to the point where I’m emotionally exhausted at the end of the chapter.
On top of this, she doesn’t suggest any clear solutions to this. I’m still not clear how increasing supply of housing stock wouldn’t solve the problem as she said - I genuinely think its a supply issue.
And I feel she doesn’t address the root cause. Minton points out that councils are doing all these redevelopment projects due to funding cuts but puts the blame squarely on them. But councils have little control over funding cuts.
Still worth a read, but maybe would skim through next time.
On top of this, she doesn’t suggest any clear solutions to this. I’m still not clear how increasing supply of housing stock wouldn’t solve the problem as she said - I genuinely think its a supply issue.
And I feel she doesn’t address the root cause. Minton points out that councils are doing all these redevelopment projects due to funding cuts but puts the blame squarely on them. But councils have little control over funding cuts.
Still worth a read, but maybe would skim through next time.
August 17, 2023
Some interesting elements and very moving stories about the failures of councils and central government to house the most vulnerable, but fails to address the underlying issues around the housing crisis. Increased local democracy and power for local communities will not by itself create the incentive for local communities to approve housebuilding, and this book doesn't even address the contraction in calling for more houses and more residents rights to block housebuilding.
London needs more homes and some people who already live where they are being built will be unhappy, and everyone happy won't live there yet. This is the crux of the crisis and it just isn't addressed.
London needs more homes and some people who already live where they are being built will be unhappy, and everyone happy won't live there yet. This is the crux of the crisis and it just isn't addressed.
September 22, 2025
Started reading this book ages ago. Decided to come back and finish it after attending LREF. While LREF has certainly calmed down and isn’t quite how Minton describes, some of the formalities and exhibitions remain a bit gross. Perhaps I’ll give more of an honest review on the conduct of local authorities and how they interact with developers and investors once I’ve left this job next month.
Aside from LREF the book outlines the reasons as to why London is facing a house crisis: shortage of affordable homes, luxury housing replacing affordable dwellings, housing treated as an asset, right to buy, etc… While I no longer live in a flat from which you can see Battersea Power Station and the glamour of Nine Elms (joke) it’s so obvious to see how we have got to this point in London. Wandsworth council literally sold off a piece or working class history to the highest Malaysian bidder - and now it’s full of people who spend 2 weeks at a time there and then fuck off to UAE, Miami, Moscow and Singapore for the remainder.
Aside from LREF the book outlines the reasons as to why London is facing a house crisis: shortage of affordable homes, luxury housing replacing affordable dwellings, housing treated as an asset, right to buy, etc… While I no longer live in a flat from which you can see Battersea Power Station and the glamour of Nine Elms (joke) it’s so obvious to see how we have got to this point in London. Wandsworth council literally sold off a piece or working class history to the highest Malaysian bidder - and now it’s full of people who spend 2 weeks at a time there and then fuck off to UAE, Miami, Moscow and Singapore for the remainder.
February 4, 2023
i started this book just before going on one of my periodic epic walks with my daughter along the Thames, so I was hyper-aware of all the developments around the river, especially near Battersea Power Station. It's a good read: we are always told that oligarchs buying property is distorting the housing market, but this tells you more about how it works and how it interacts with buy to let, housing benefit and so on to make it harder and harder to live in the city. This is really becoming an urgent issue now, and the book has some goos suggestions about where to start.
June 26, 2017
Anna Minton's timely book about the London housing crisis is a sobering and comprehensive look at the failures of both social housing and benefits policies, the built-in failures of so-called gentrification, the rise in overseas investment and the consequences for Londoners, including the rise of "generation rent" and the wider social implications for the capital but - disappointingly - is short on possible solutions.
June 24, 2019
Razor-sharp, righteously angry analysis of how market-driven "revitalization" housing policies can kill a city and its communities. I loved the specificity of the stories of local campaigns to push back against these policies, and overall Minton is very focused on the council level. Would've been great for the book to have more context on how national-level policies contribute to this state of affairs.
March 22, 2021
A detailed and compassionate account of the state of the UK's housing, which despite the title has as much relevance for cities and towns outside London as it does in the capital.
Minton combines overarching political and social history with a sharp focus on the personal stories of many people suffering the consequences of current policies. It is this person-centred approach that is obviously so lacking in UK housing policy, and which makes Big Capital such an engaging read.
Minton combines overarching political and social history with a sharp focus on the personal stories of many people suffering the consequences of current policies. It is this person-centred approach that is obviously so lacking in UK housing policy, and which makes Big Capital such an engaging read.
August 15, 2025
Illuminating, describing the structural conditions and political circumstances that create the environment I have felt for years is rotten in London. Interesting references to how some European cities organise and regulate housing and the different outcomes it creates for people's lives. Wasn't that convinced by the final chapter though, probably cause the possibility of a paradigm shift in London feels hopeless
March 28, 2020
A really insightful look into how the property market in London is biased towards foreign investors and the hyper wealthy allowing them to trample all over the working people who rely on social housing.
Minton looks back at some of the effects of Thatcher's premiership as well as looking at more contemporary policies and their impacts on a range of regular people throughout the city.
Minton looks back at some of the effects of Thatcher's premiership as well as looking at more contemporary policies and their impacts on a range of regular people throughout the city.
May 18, 2020
I loved this book! The past few political books I’ve read have been very repetitive/mundane towards the end and I’ve ended up rushing through them to finish them but this was so easy to read and enjoyable (despite the depressing content). It will make you very angry, sad and ready to slide tackle some billionaires and politicians.
July 6, 2021
Wouldve liked more discussion on the implications of broader national government policy on the housing market and local council decisions, the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on the housing market, and the relationship between real estate and the banks; but it still manages to be pretty informative despite its conciseness.
May 27, 2022
It's a good but depressing read. I think if it had a bit more on the history, clearer themes on how the mechanisms for global property investment work, then that would make the (very moving and sometimes jaw dropping) witness accounts more timeless. I kept wondering what was happening now - and I will certainly check.
August 19, 2024
Strong argument that the city has to be there for all. Showcases reality through facts such as how councils manage their own housing property portfolio, and through anecdotal stories from real people. Makes us part of the forces at work in London. More about why things do not work than about what is being done about it.
August 19, 2025
A light read on London housing. Mainly a political manifesto for more public / social housing. The question raised, which is not really answered (until the last chapter) is how it would be delivered.
Important stories about the negative impact of new development in London on existing communities.
Important stories about the negative impact of new development in London on existing communities.
May 12, 2019
An excellent book on the housing crisis effecting London and other cities in the UK.
Minton tackles the crisis in a short but explosive book and it's as enlightening as it is worrying.
As others have said it's not surprising Grenfell happened as the lack of care by councils is appalling.
Minton tackles the crisis in a short but explosive book and it's as enlightening as it is worrying.
As others have said it's not surprising Grenfell happened as the lack of care by councils is appalling.
February 23, 2022
A very good overview of the issues with London's housing market, how it came to be and how we can maybe address it. I would recommend anyone who is struggling with rent or buying a house in London to give this a read.
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