Property woe for public sector workers

Public sector workers such as teachers, nurses, police and firefighters cannot afford to buy homes in seven out of 10 UK towns, the Halifax bank has said.

Surprise, surprise - talk about stating the bleeding obvious. Anyone thought of moving all the hospitals to the three remaining towns?

The Halifax arrived at its conclusions by dividing average regional property prices by average annual wages. It said property was most unaffordable in London and South-East England but property costs were also racing away from wages in other parts of the UK.

The government said it had worked hard to help key workers buy homes. Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said: "No government has done more to help key workers; since 1997 almost 25,000 key workers have got their first step on the property ladder through government shared equity and shared ownership schemes."

And still these buyers (in increasing numbers) continue to default on their 'reduced' payments. What are they spending their money (and the money they don't have) on? Lifestyle - that's what. They all want new kitchens, new cars, two holidays, designer labels and the ultimate accessory - kids. These two aspirations (house and lifestyle) are nearly always incompatible. Whatever happened to saving up until you can afford it, or even (god-forbid that any of my friends should see me shelf-filling at Tescos - besides it would ruin my nails) getting a part-time job?

"There is a real shortage of accommodation, both to rent and to buy, as hospital trusts have sold off a lot of on-site nurses' accommodation." However, public sector workers do enjoy some advantages over many private sector workers.

Such as?

• a job for life unless they do something really naughty (and even then they will probably be suspended on full pay) or they will claim to have a back or stress related injury (almost impossible to confirm it exists) whilst they indulge in a moonlighting job such as property development.
  
• an index linked pension.
  
• free uniforms.
  
• free or subsidised meals.
  
• free transport.
  
• free or subsidised child-care etc. etc.

They are often given preferential treatment by housing associations and have access to government sponsored shared-ownership schemes.

Helen Adams, chief executive of self-help website, firstrungnow.com, has noted a growing resentment on the site's chatroom against public sector workers. "Many of my site users have a bit of a beef with public sector workers. They see them going to the front of the queue in new developments and being given a financial leg-up which is not available to them."

It isn't any different now to what it was 40 years ago (and I should know as I started life as a nurse). In those days a nurse wouldn't have 'assumed' they could buy a house - even a back-street terraced in Coronation Street was beyond their means on a single income. As soon as I planned to marry and have a family I left nursing for a career in computing because nursing would not have given me the lifestyle (not that there was such a word in the '60s) that I aspired to.

There is no 'right' by low paid workers to own a house. (Thatcher is to blame.)

They could always:

• change jobs;
  
• move to a cheaper area;
  
• get an additional part-time job;
  
• rent (there will soon be a glut of houses for rent (and even buy at knock down prices) when the current property development 'boom' ends);
  
• marry someone rich;
  
• sell their children so they can work longer hours;
  
• sell a kidney;
  
• encourage their parents to die (or persuade them to hand over their house.)
  

We're all DOOMED. DOOMED I say Capt Mainwaring.