“Nice to see some members of the clowncil have principles that they wish to stand bye.All credit to them.But do any of them object to "pounds in my pocket pete" and" porky palmers " demands for a pay rise?”

“To get back to the original topic, I thought that the idea of council housing was that it is supposed to be "affordable" for those without a lot of disposable income. If the rents are brought in line with private rented accomodation, the chances are that it will not be affordable for most council tenants.

What the councils should be doing is to put a cap on the income of people who are allowed to live in "affordable" council housing, so that those who can afford to live in private accomodation, whether rented or privately owned are made to do so in order that the council accomodation is available for those who cannot afford to pay inflated private rents or to buy houses of their own.

I make these comments not as someone with an axe to grind, as I have never lived in rented accomodation, either council or private, in my life and I count my blessings, knowing full well how fortunate I am.

I do feel, however, that the limited stock of affordable council houses should be available for those who cannot afford private properties, and not for the likes of that union baron Bob Crow, who lives in a council house, despite having an income of over £140,000, not counting his wife's income.”

“Nanao, I don't 'lump all people on benefits as leeches,' but the fact is, there have been two recently publicised local cases where two people had defrauded over £80,000 from you and me as taxpayers! If two local people can defraud us of this massive amount, what is the total being defrauded nationally? Wouldn't it be better to 'get to grips' with this 'endemic' fraud in order for the defrauded funds to go to those who really need it?”

“@DonHenson,

Prove it. That's such an absurd conclusion.”

“Rod52 - Please do not lump all people on benefits as 'leeches'. There is in fact a small minority of people that ruin it for all. Testing everyone on a regular basis would also cost you, the taxpayer more esp if its based on whisle blowing because someone appears to be living an expensive 'lifestyle' (its impossible to know how much someone's income is without asking them personally). Would you expect a person who is clearly disabled and in constant pain to stand in que every month for hours to get a little stamp to say that they can't work and needs benefits? Because thats what would happen if testing was brought in. I totally agree reforms need to be made but finger pointing really doesn't help find the answer.
I'm not having a go at you Rob but please look at the bigger picture.”

“'Occupants of about a third of the council's 22,000 properties pay rent without the aid of housing benefit, and will be affected by the increase.'

....And those with the aid of housing and other benefits will continue to live the 'lifestyle' they have become so accustomed to, 'leeching' off those who struggle to pay their dues! The city council should be investigating ALL those who receive 'benefits,' as many appear to have 'lifestyles' better than those in honest gainful employment! Millions of pounds could be saved with a little effort on the council's part, but unfortunately, it would seriously affect their electoral 'base' vote!”

“I don't think the Mayor, Milliband & Balls would agree with you DonHenson as they were at the forefront of most of it.”

“But of course the previous Labour government was a Tory government in drag...”

“It was the previous Labour Government that brought the policy in on equaling the amount of rent people pay in line with the private rented sector. It has been going on for at least six years to my knowledge.”