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Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle
Maxine Peake narrates this forthright polemic on the consequences of the 1980s Right-to-Buy scheme on the nation's affordable housing.
Documentary 2017 82 mins
Director: Paul Sng
Overview
Britain's housing crisis is brought into acute focus in this urgent and impassioned documentary, narrated by Maxine Peake. Since the 1980 introduction of the Right-to-Buy scheme, the number of people living in council housing has dramatically declined in the UK. In recent years the issue has risen in prominence as controversial campaigns to demolish large estates have been met with local resistance. Paul Sng's documentary reports from the front-line of these standoffs, as we hear first-hand accounts from estates like London's Cressingham Gardens and Glasgow's Govanhill.
While Sng focuses mainly on the everyday stories of people affected by large-scale gentrification and redevelopment projects, we also hear from prominent political figures such as Nicola Sturgeon and Caroline Lucas. We're left with a vivid portrait of a genuine crisis that goes to the heart of democracy's core values.
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