Its always a challenge to show leadership and bring about change in any sector of society. There will always be people who are likely to be affected by the change who will resist it, sometimes irrespective of the merits of the change itself and certainly despite any wider perspective. This means that when Governments, particularly those whose electoral mandate is weak, believe that change is needed, they need to be strong in the way they introduce it. However they also need to temper this strength with a very responsive feedback system so that if the ideas for which they have no mandate are widely recognised as being unfit for purpose, that they show that they are able to learn from their mistakes.

The bedroom tax (under occupation penalty) and plan to make housing payments to the tenant, and not the landlord as part of the universal credit system are recognised as being high risk policies, bearing in mind that the objective is to reduce costs to the exchequer. This is because there are very few homes of any size that are vacant and available for rent to those living in affordable housing, and there are significant risks that under the pressure of meeting financial liabilities, that some tenants unused to dealing with rent payments won’t ring fence their rent payments appropriately. The end result of both of these policies could be a very unstable housing market and lead to health (including mental health) and other social consequences.

It is not entirely surprising that the Labour Party have opposed these changes, and perhaps the resistance by the myriad of advice services and debt charities is also a reflection of their general support for those in greatest need, rather than their wider understanding of the economy at large. The social housing sector have also raised concerns with the Government. I was at an event last week when a senior Tory Councillor was expressing a lack of support for these policies so even some within the party are against these changes. However this week yet another set of voices has been added to those arguing against the Governments reforms of the welfare system. A report commission by RICS has raised their concerns at the impact of these changes on the wider housing market.

Iain Duncan Smith has certainly been strong in the way in which he has introduced these changes and showing leadership when there is opposition could be a strength. However if this extends to ignoring everyone else when you are clearly marching out of step, then it is time to change to listening mode. There is never a good time to perform a U turn, but if you have to do so, sooner rather than later will avoid a complete loss of confidence. The RICS report has not been prepared to limit the social cost to the poorest in society (who are perhaps not all natural Tory voters), but it is something that points to problems for a very different social demographic. The RICS report is suggesting that these changes will impact on those who are private landlords (a group that does include many natural Tory voters). They are a group of people who we all depend on in ensuring there is housing available for the many people who cannot afford to buy their own homes and who cannot be housed in the very limited supplies of social housing. It is time to listen IDS!