A row has broken out over the head of a think tank who surprised Labour Party members by being appointed as a candidate in a safe seat ahead of the July 4 General Election.
The Resolution Foundation is a think tank which describes itself as “independent” but now its chief executive, Torsten Bell, has been named as Labour’s candidate for the party stronghold of Swansea West.
As recently as April Bell’s think tank issued a report claiming that no more than one per cent of landlords had quit the sector as a result of interest rates soaring and the sharp increase in buy to let operating costs. The foundation dismissed concerns over the costs to landlords as “scare stories”.
Controversially the foundation said in its report in April - before Bell’s elevation to Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Labour - that popular arguments on what caused rent rises were wide of the mark.
It said the theory that rising interest rates have pushed up the cost of servicing Buy to Let mortgages – forcing landlords to pass on these costs to their tenants – ignored the fact that landlords’ ability to pass on higher costs was ultimately constrained by the wider rental market. If it were so easy for landlords to unilaterally choose to increase rents, they would likely have done so before recent times, said the foundation.
The foundation report also claimed there had also been what it called ”scare stories about interest rate rises and tougher regulation sparking a mass exodus of landlords from the private rental sector, reducing the supply of available homes.” It said this wasn’t true.
However Bell’s appointment as candidate over the weekend has sparked criticism according to BBC reports.
The corporation says former Labour MP Beth Winter said the appointment of Bell was "an insult to party members, an insult to Wales, and an affront to democracy".
The BBC also quotes local Swansea West party members saying they are "angry" and "disappointed" by the decision.
One local member said he was now "seriously questioning" his membership of the party - adding "I'm furious. The party is riding roughshod over the core membership. It’s tone deaf. We have very good potential candidates who live and work here in Swansea, who have driven Swansea through some extremely difficult times in the last 14 years. To parachute someone in makes me extremely angry."
The Welsh Labour Party told The BBC that "Torsten brings a wealth of experience in economic policy and tackling child poverty. He will be real champion for Swansea West.”
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