Letter: Scandal of tax cash paid out to landlords
Two days after the General Election the Shropshire Star publicised the £53 million paid by taxpayers to private landlords in Shropshire in one year, part of the £9.2 billion paid out to private landlords nationally.
The net capping benefits needs to be cast a bit wider than just over the poorest in society.
In the mass of press releases piling up in newspaper offices it's a shame that one issued on April 27 got sadly held up until after voters had made their choice.
A roof over one's head is a crucial welfare issue, as has been reinforced by the right to buy council houses – 40 per cent of which have been bought to let, with the rent being paid to private landlords, in many cases by the same council which owned the house.
At about the same time as this press release was delayed the Conservatives made a pitch for votes by suggesting that housing associations should be compelled to sell their stock.
These houses were built for fair rents with taxpayers' support – resulting in a future increase to that £9 billion, and encouraging further rises in private rents and insecurity for tenants.
Resolving the housing crisis is not a simple issue for any political party, but not a single one of the newly elected or re-elected local MPs included it when, in the same edition you gave them most of a page devoted to spelling out their pledges.
John Simblet, Shrewsbury
