50 Years Ago: The Landlord’s Paradise
The Landlord’s Paradise.
The sale of the Covent Garden estate by the Duke of Bedford for several million pounds to the well-known financial magnate and Tory M.P., Mr. Mallaby Deeley, disposes of all the Liberals’ claims as to bringing the land back to the people. So harmless are Lloyd George’s taxes, and so empty his vote-catching vapourings, that this astute financial prince laughs at the very idea of the danger to property, and calmly ventures millions upon its stability—a safe enough guide for anybody.
But besides showing the utter fraud of the Liberal Land Campaign in a peculiarly convincing manner, the stupendous transaction is interesting for that it records the passing of the aristocratic property-owner as such, and the rising of the commercial king.
(From the Socialist Standard, January, 1914.)
Postscript From Today
Hallmark securities, the £10 million property and housing group, surprise property investors by expecting residential developers to be better off under a Labour Government.
Chairman Mr. Sidney Bloch says: “The Socialists want another 136,000 houses a year, half of which will go to private enterprise. We shall also welcome a Government which buys land for lease back to developers. This will release more of our capital . . .”
He forecasts a dividend rise next year from 36⅞ p.c. to 40 p.c.
From the Daily Mail (4/10/63).