FT.com / World - PM urged to take control of builders
FT.com / World - PM urged to take control of builders Gordon Brown has been urged by senior Labour MPs to nationalise parts of the housebuilding industry in the wake of this week’s rescue of the big banks. Jon Cruddas, who recently declined the post of housing minister, pushed for state intervention in the housing industry, arguing there was a case for wholesale nationalisation. Backbenchers, former ministers and left-wing pressure groups have told the Financial Times that the time has come for the prime minister to seize housebuilders, a move that only a year ago would have been inconceivable. Share prices of companies such as Barratt Developments and Persimmon have plunged in the past year amid a dramatic slide in sales and prices of new homes. Taylor Wimpey traded as low as 11p this week, down from 518p in early 2007. Many influential Labour voices believe the government could benefit from taking a greater role in the industry. This could save thousands of jobs and solve the shor