Shadow chancellor John McDonnell calls for collective ownership of land

[Tony Gosling]

John McDonnell floats idea of 'collective ownership of land'

https://www.farminguk.com/news/John-McDonnell-floats-idea-of-collective-ownership-of-land-_50716.html
...Andrew Fisher, senior policy adviser to Mr 
Corbyn, wrote a book in 2014 entitled 'The Failed 
Experiment', whilst he was a union official. In 
it, he called land ownership “ridiculous”: “The 
land was here before we were born and it will be 
here after we are long since departed. Does this 
mean all land should be publicly owned? Perhaps,” he wrote in the book....

Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell calls for 
collective ownership of land - a policy straight 
out of Marx's Communist Manifesto
http://tlio.org.uk/labour-shadow-chancellor-john-mcdonnell-calls-for-collective-ownership-of-land/
Shadow Chancellor was speaking at a rally in St Pancreas Church in London
Vowed to replace House of Lords with elected senate and nationalise utilities
He also said collective land ownership could shake up power dynamic
By CHARLIE MOORE FOR MAILONLINE 13 November 2018
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6385701/Labour-shadow-chancellor-John-McDonnell-calls-collective-ownership-land.html 

John McDonnell last night promoted the collective 
ownership of land and said if he gets in power he 
will transform the state from within.
Speaking at a rally in St Pancreas Church in 
London, Labour's shadow chancellor vowed to 
replace the House of Lords with an elected senate and nationalise utilities.
He implied that Labor MPs who don't support the 
party leadership would be held 'accountable' and 
said collective land ownership could shake up society.
'One of the big issues we're now talking about is 
land, how do we go about looking at collective 
ownership of land, Community Land Trusts, the 
development of those by local communities that's 
a huge challenge to the existing power 
relationships within our society at the moment, 
it's one I think that could be fundamentally important.'
Community Land Trusts are set up by local people 
to collectively build, own and manage houses in their community.
There are now almost 290 CLTs in England and 
Wales, and the sector has grown six-fold in the last six years.
Mr McDonnell said CLTs contribute towards his 
broader aim to dramatically change the power structure in the UK.
He said: 'It's the development of the ideas of 
"in and against the state" at the local level.'
Mr McDonnell said the state forces working class 
people 'to conform to the existing distribution 
of wealth and power within our society' and needs 
to be fundamentally re-thought.
He said his mission was 'to gain power to 
empower,' reported the New Statesman.
The 67-year-old celebrated Labour reaching 50,000 
members but added: 'We’ve got to convert ordinary 
members and supporters into real cadres who 
understand and analyse society and who are continually building the ideas'.
The policy of collective ownership was advocated 
by German philosopher Karl Marx in his Communist Manifesto.
It comes after an ally of Jeremy Corbyn has said 
last week all private homes should be 
'nationalised' by giving town halls the right to buy them.
Hard-left Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle told a 
rally that council bosses should be given the 
power of first refusal on houses up for sale.
The plans would see swathes of privately-owned 
property being taken into public control.
In response, Tory chairman Brandon Lewis tweeted: 
'Even your home is not safe from Labour now.'
Mr Russell-Moyle, 32, also said he wants to tear 
up planning laws to allow local authorities to 
build high-rise flats in suburbs and leafy villages.
He claimed Labour would order mass compulsory 
purchases of former council homes sold off under 
Margaret Thatcher's Right To Buy scheme.
The MP for Brighton Kemptown made his 
controversial comments at an anti-austerity conference in London.
He declared: 'Let's not just talk about council 
houses – let's get those bloody private houses back into our hands.'
Speaking under a banner reading 'Stand With 
Corbyn', Mr Russell-Moyle said a future Labour 
government would abolish the right to buy and 
'compulsory purchase en masse' housing stock which had been sold.
'We need to develop a system that slowly over 
time takes property out of private hands and puts 
it into public hands,' he said.
Former housing minister Grant Shapps branded the plans 'pure madness'.
The Tory MP said: 'The truth's out – cuddly 
Corbyn wants to nationalise your home.'
The party's deputy chairman James Cleverly 
tweeted: 'Your home isn't safe under Labour. That 
'right to buy' will be at a price of Labour's 
choosing and it won't be at its full market value.'
In response to the speech, a Labour Party 
spokesman said: 'This is not Labour policy.
'Labour will end the housing crisis by building 
100,000 genuinely affordable homes a year, 
introducing controls on rents, longer tenancies 
and improved renters' rights and taking action to end rough sleeping.' 
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