Labour leadership is again defeated on council housing

Overwhelming support for the so-called fourth option for council housing at this year's Labour Party conference has put the government under renewed pressure to provide new funds for council housing.

At present, additional funds for major housing repairs and improvements are not available for council-owned stock. In order to get funding, a local authority must transfer its homes to a housing association, switch control to an arm's length management organisation (ALMO), or set up a private finance initiative (PFI) scheme to run council homes.

The fourth option, says the union-backed Defend Council Housing (DCH) campaign, would allow councils who opt to retain their housing stock to qualify for these additional funds, so providing a level playing field.

Only 92 authorities still own and control their own housing.

Deputy prime minister John Prescott has so far refused to concede a fourth option, even though delegates at this years' conference voted four to one in favour of the motion calling for this. This is the second year running campaigners have won the vote and this time the scale of the victory should mean that, under party rules, the motion should become government policy.

* DCH is organising a lobby of Parliament and mass rally on Wednesday 8 February. This aims to help win over more MPs and increase pressure on the government to reopen negotiations on the "fourth option".