Ken Deadstone is so Old Fashioned

Ken Livingstone and the Labour Party want to go back to the future. To do so they want to resurrect rent controls in London despite the overwhelming evidence from our own history and the experience of other places in the World that have tried this that rent controls diminish the stock of properties to let. As we should all know by now restrictions on free markets have a detrimental effect on supplies. It is well documented that rent controls put landlords off building new properties to rent and that artificially low rents increase the demand for rent controlled properties. The inability of landlords to charge a market rent leads to them to skip necessary maintenance work with the buildings they own falling into disrepair. If this sounds like a recipe for cheating it is. Who can forget Rachman and his exploitation of the flats he owned in Notting Hill. He forced out those tenants on low or fixed rents and replaced them with immigrants on much higher rents. In the meantime his buildings became a slum. Ken has a campaign slogan "Don't vote for a joke, Vote for London." If anyone's the joke it is Ken himself and hopefully he and Labour will be squashed unmercifully on this anti free market pledge. We had all been told that Labour now believe in the free market but seek to ensure that it operates compassionately. Labour has clearly been indulging in lies. Apparently in 1939 55% of households were in the private rented sector whereas at the time of the Housing Act 1988 this sector had shrunk to just 8% as this Commentator blog points out here. The rental market since 1988 when rent controls were abolished has boomed. Funny isn't it that we have to thank Lady Thatcher for this freedom from control.