Labour and Co-operative Member of
Parliament for Kemptown and Peacehaven

Living Cooperativly – Branches

by Lloyd on 12.10.08
Tags: , ,

A year ago around this week a group of students, ex-students and people who just cared got together. Fed up with house prices, and not wanting to pay to a landlord Branches Housing Cooperative was born.

No one would have quite predicted that the economy would end up this way – no one would have quite thought that whilst being so dramatic, the outcome for could have the potential of redressing the housing balance.

I had been saying for years that the house prices would drop and like in the 80’s, 90’s and before that they would crash leaving thousands in negative equity. I, however didn’t quite realise that extent of how it was going to be (I don’t think that many did).

I was told last week that “Bankers were just following each other, everyone hoping that someone knew what they were doing – while no one really did”. Well, we can see where that has lead.

I believe that rather than this meaning that it should be harder to buy, instead people who choose safer, and in the end mutual options will win out.

Branches, is a radical housing cooperative, part of the Radical Roots network of coops committed to changing the world.

Radical Roots have an investment arm, which has a 100% lending record, it can achieve this because it has are real understanding of coops. With the process of lending going through peer reviews, making sure that people get the best for them not what is for the Banks.

As long as we have Banks that want to make profit we will have what we have seen over the last few months. The future has to be mutual solutions, owned by their memebrs, developed by the people not fat cats in the city.

Leave a comment

Labour and Co-operative Member of
Parliament for Kemptown and Peacehaven

Contact Lloyd

Click here

Follow Lloyd