The Labour Housing Association held its annual conference at Derby on 31st August. Mr. J.W. Ogden, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Union Congress, who presided, said that according to an estimate, 500,000 working-class houses were required at present, and to meet the needs of an increasing population an annual supply of 10,000. Housing was mixed up with the land question, and it was impossible to deal with one problem without dealing with the other. At present selfishness was in a great measure contributing to overcrowding. Trade unionism was very properly associating itself with all these problems of work, housing, education, and recreation – in fact, it was not an exaggeration to say that trade unionism had become a religion (Cheers.) A resolution declaring the need for State loans free of interest for housing schemes, brought forward on behalf of the Dock Workers’ Union, was adopted.
