Journal of Co-operative Studies 64, 59-62

Journal of Co-operative Studies, No. 64 - return to full issue

Abstract

The Housing Bill, which was featured in Journal 62 last May, is finally the 1988 Housing Act. Its passage through Parliament has been characterised by that usual mixture of muddle, serious debate and light farce which we call British parliamentary democracy. It was published in November 1987, was withdrawn when found to contain typing errors, was then greeted with widespread and sustained criticism from all sides, was delayed by hundreds of amendments and new clauses added by the Government, and was finally enacted in a guillotine which ended the final debate before it began. Looking at all the changes it has gone through, one must agree with Clive Soley, MP who described the Government's tactics as 'making policy on the hoof'.