来源：《卫报》
原文刊登日期：2021年12月1日
本文适合2023考生
Britain’s prolonged house price boom, described by market analysts as “gravity-defying”, shows little sign of letting up. According to data released from Nationwide, average property values rose by 0.9% in November alone. Since the first lockdown in March 2020, they have risen by almost 15%, driven by booming demand, limited supply and pandemic-related lifestyle changes.
市场分析人士称，英国持续的房价上涨是“不受地心引力影响的”，几乎没有停止的迹象。根据全英房屋抵押贷款协会(Nationwide)公布的数据，仅在11月，平均房价就上涨了0.9%。自2020年3月第一次封锁以来，受需求旺盛、供应有限和与疫情相关的生活方式改变的推动，房价已上升了近15%。
Adding fuel to the fire, successive Conservative governments have sought to make the housing ladder more accessible through help-to-buy schemes, which have contributed to the surge in prices. But for the millions of Britons who will never come close to earning enough money to own a home, insecure rented accommodation has become a way of life. As the supply of social housing has steadily dwindled, their interests have been grievously neglected. Yet, as Labour’s former shadow housing minister Lucy Powell has pointed out, promoting home ownership should be compatible with looking after the interests and welfare of renters. This week, perhaps more surprisingly, that argument was echoed by the former prime minister Theresa May.
雪上加霜的是，连续几届保守党政府都试图通过“购房帮助计划”让人们更容易买到住房，这导致了房价的飙升。但对于数百万永远挣不到足够的钱买房的英国人来说，没有保障的租住已成为一种生活方式。随着社会福利住房的供应不断减少，他们的利益被严重忽视了。然而，正如工党前影子住房部长露西•鲍威尔所指出的，促进自有住房应与照顾租房者的利益和福利相协调。本周，或许更令人惊讶的是，这一观点得到了前首相特蕾莎•梅的呼应。
In a foreword to a report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a centre-right thinktank, Mrs May acknowledged that the historic Tory focus on home ownership “has at times distracted from what should be our overwhelming priority as Conservatives: ensuring that everyone has a decent, affordable and secure home”. The dearth of available social housing, which began with the 1980s sell-off of council stock, has led to a boom in the private rented sector. Low-income families – who once would have lived in council accommodation or a housing association home – are struggling to get by as a result. One in five households now rent privately, compared to one in 10 in the 1980s; of those, almost half find it “fairly or very difficult” to pay their housing costs. A large proportion spend more than 30% of their disposable income on rent, making it a key driver of in-work poverty. The decline in cheap social housing stock, the report concludes, has culminated in a collapse in the supply of decent affordable homes for people living on modest to low incomes.
特蕾莎•梅在中右翼智库社会正义中心（CSJ）的一份报告前言中承认，过去的保守党专注于房屋所有权“有时会偏离我们作为保守党的首要任务：确保每个人都有一个体面、负担得起和安全的家”。从20世纪80年代廉住房存量抛售开始，可用社会福利住房的缺乏导致了私人租赁部门的繁荣。因此，低收入家庭——他们曾经住在政府提供的住房或住房协会的住房里——正艰难度日。现在，五分之一的家庭是私人租赁的，而20世纪80年代，这一比例为十分之一；在这些家庭中，近一半发现支付住房费用“相当或非常困难”。很大一部分人将超过30%的可支配收入花在房租上，这是造成在岗贫困的主要原因。报告总结道，廉价社会福利住房存量的下降，最终导致了中等收入到低收入人群的体面经济适用住房供应量的崩溃。
As a member of Conservative governments that contributed to this dismal state of affairs, Mrs May bears her own share of responsibility. But the belated recognition of the extent of this crisis is welcome. It is also a sign of the times, as the Tory party reflects on the changed social composition of its support. The CSJ recommends that an emphasis on building affordable rented housing should be a central part of the government’s levelling-up programme. Over two-thirds of “new Conservative” voters surveyed said that expanding affordable rented accommodation should be the top housing priority. Since the 1950s, Conservative governments have seen expanding home ownership as a means of maximising the Tory vote at general elections. The nation’s stressed-out renters continue to pay the price.
作为促成这一惨淡局面的保守党政府的一员，特蕾莎•梅也有自己的一份责任。但是，对这场危机的严重性的迟来的认识是值得欢迎的。这也是一个时代的标志，因为保守党反思其支持者的社会构成的变化。CSJ建议，重点建设经济适用房应成为政府均衡发展计划的核心部分。在接受调查的“新保守党”选民中，超过三分之二的人表示，扩大负担得起的租赁住房应该是住房方面的首要任务。自上世纪50年代以来，保守党政府一直将扩大住房拥有率视为在大选中最大化保守党选票的一种手段。英国不堪重负的租房者继续为此付出代价。