I know my place

No matter what they meant, they said bottom of society and this an insult

ninathenana it's interesting that your mum had neighbours who had two cars and took foreign (expensive?) holidays. Is the original idea of council housing ( council providing a home to people whose income was too low to support a mortgage) changed for the worse ? The right to buy scheme introduced by M. Thatcher meant that many families who could then afford a mortgage stayed in their council homes. This left a waiting list of hopefuls who then had little chance of getting a decent roof over their heads. Then the buy to let landlords moved in with cheaply purchased cash loans, and the result is what we see today. Councils having to pay or subsidise properties for tenants over which they have no control. And ....a dire shortage of ready to loan out council property.

I don't think they mean 'bottom' as a derogatory description. I think they mean it more along the lines of least powerful. Those who have the least choices etc.

I grew up in council housing in a working class area. You could always rely on your neighbours to help you out because we were all in the same boat. I remember when I got married I was surprised to get home from work and see that no-one had taken in my washing when it had rained - something you could take for granted on the council estate!

Definitly not true Elegran
Devongirl council rents are by no means cheap these days. Certainly not in S.E.
Mum had a couple of near neighbours that were two car families and many had foriegn holidays.

There is this notion around that people only rent a council house if they are very hard up - that council houses are something "given" to the poor, like a kind of charity, and that they should only get one while they are desperate and be turfed out as soon as possible.

It is not true.

I only wish I could live in a council flat even if it did mean I was considered the 'bottom' of society! I would willingly trade that for my current mortgage payments..

I was brought up on a council estate in the house that mum n dad had lived in since 1950 when it was a new build we never had a car, we all rode push bikes or took the bus. When dad died a in 1985 mum stayed there. Our section of the estate was always neat and tidy with pretty little front gardens. Yes there were a couple of roads that had a bad reputation but on the whole it was good. Mum n dad weren't well off, they both worked but I never felt my brother and I lacked anything. I'm proud of my roots. My brother whent to uni and had a high powered job.
These days sections of council estates are sold off for private housing and of course a lot have been bought on 'right to buy schemes' it's often hard to tell which houses on an estate are private and which aren't.

Bottom of what? If it means income, then that makes some sense - as you have demonstrated Annie, as someone in a council house, money is tight for you.

I assume that this is what it means rather than some slur on those who live in social housing as it is now called. I too did so for part of my life; and my working life took me to many many council houses where I met some wonderful people.

I think that is the view of a lot of people Anniebach I grew up in a council house as did most of central Scotland and and it wasn't a problem for us...or for the few folk we knew who didn't.Council house schemes (estates) even now aren't generally looked down on but I see a lot in the press that implies that people who are schemies are lazy shiftless ,druggies etc etc etc.That is not true .Go into most houses in the scheme next to me and they are like palaces,people work damn hard to keep their wee houses looking great.We werevery ucky when we gt married 42 years ago to be given a brand new 2 bedroom and boxroom terraced house with gardens back and front and a small lockup garage....we loved it there had brilliant friends and we stayed there for 8 years until we could afford our first flat ,there are many folk though who dont want the burden of a mortgage and why should they have one when they can manage fine in Council housing but would struggle with a mortgage and the upkeep of the house.I find the media attitude to council tenants appalling ,its certainly not the attitude of the people where I live