Masterly Inactivity:
The politics of private
renting under New
Labour
Ben Pattison, School of Social Policy
Housing Studies Association, April 2014
2011-12
2010-11
2009-10
2008-09
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
Households (millions)
The rebirth of private renting
Number of households in the private rented sector, England
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Decline of private renting



Political drivers were part of a complex set of factors
which led to the decline of private renting up to 1979
(Kemp, 2004)
Other drivers include:
– Rent control
– Changing attitudes to tenure and landlords
– Demographic change
– Mortgage market
What was the role of political drivers in the
subsequent growth of private renting in England?
Political Discourse Analysis




Politics is ‘most fundamentally about making
choices about how to act’ (Fairclough and
Fairclough, 2012, p. 11)
‘political discourse is inherently deliberative’ (ibid,
p. 26)
Analysis of Hansard and wider political
deliberation (biographies, policy, manifestos,
diaries)
Parliamentary debates are ‘a multi-agent context
where a political decision has to be arrived at’
(ibid, p. 200)
Thatcher and Major governments

Actively promoted limited growth of the
private rented sector to complement the
development of the property-owning
democracy
 Housing Act 1980: Assured tenancies
 Housing Act 1988: Assured shorthold
tenancies
 Supported by Housing Benefit to ‘take the
strain’ for low income households
New Labour consensus





Third way consensus which reconciled
competing positions
‘Agnostic about tenure’ (Hilary Armstrong quoted
in Cowan, 1999, p. 7)
Continued previous approach but with greater
emphasis on support for vulnerable tenants
‘Masterly inactivity’ (Nick Raynsford quoted in
Kemp, 2004, p. 65)
‘nothing to say’ and ‘nothing new to announce’
(Mullin, 2009, p. 45 & 132).
Competing Discourses



Limit regulation: Conservatives praised ‘the maturity
with which the Labour party now approaches the
issue of the private rented sector’ (John Butterfill MP,
27 March 2001)
Protect vulnerable tenants: ‘It is an unhappy fact
that in Sunderland we have rather a lot of bad
landlords’ (Chris Mullin MP,12 December 2001)
Promote investment in PRS: ‘an expansion in
private renting could ease two major problems: first,
the problem of severe shortages of accommodation,
and secondly, the need for regeneration’ (Lord Best,
27th February 2002)
Social and economic drivers


This political approach of ‘masterly inactivity’ retained
a policy and regulatory environment which enabled
the growth of private renting to occur
After 2001, a range of other social and economic
drivers supported this rapid growth including:
– Buy to Let mortgages
– Demographic changes (e.g. students, migration,
single person households)
– House price increases mediated by the mortgage
market
– Labour market
The end of the consensus

Growing concern from MPs and Peers from 2006 onwards:
– ‘perhaps the time has now come for some regulation for
this sector’ (Lord Best, 2nd April 2008)
– Buy to Let described as a ‘pernicious new phenomenon’
(Mullin, 2010, p. 152)
 Rugg Review of Private Rented Sector published in 2008
 Slow and limited response from Labour government
 ‘The attempt to create a big tent which would appeal to
voters and interests with opposed aspirations and
conflicting priorities was almost certain one day to end in
disillusion and defeat’ (Rawnsley, 2010, p. 741).
Conclusions

The private rented sector was a marginal
concern for politicians for most of the New
Labour period
 New Labour created a Third Way consensus
which sought to reconcile competing
discourses on the role of the private renting
 This approach of ‘masterly inactivity’ retained
a policy and regulatory environment which
enabled the growth of private renting to occur
References
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Cowan, D. (1999) Housing Law and Policy. Basingstoke, Macmillan Press.
Department for Communities and Local Government (2013) English Housing
Survey 2011/2012: Headline Report. London, Department for Communities and
Local Government.
Fairclough, I. & Fairclough, N. (2012) Political Discourse Analysis: A method for
advanced studies. Abingdon, Routledge.
Kemp, P. (2004) Private Renting in Transition. Coventry, Chartered Institute of
Housing.
Mullin, C. (2009) A View from the Foothills: The diary of Chris Mullin. London,
Profile Books.
Mullin, C. (2010) Decline and Fall: Diaries 2005 to 2010. London, Profile Books.
Rawnsley, A. (2010) End of the Party: The rise and fall of New Labour. London,
Penguin.
Thank you
Email: BMP248@bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @bmpattison