“…social care should not be a commodity…As with the NHS it should be free at the point of use and … MoreRead more…
New Labour’s culpability for the housing crisis
“After 13 years of New Labour in government there were actually 655,000 less ‘social’ homes than there were when they … MoreRead more…
Help to Buy drives the widening gulf between house prices and earnings
In a recent letter to the Swindon Advertiser I quoted the price of a median house in Swindon increasing to … MoreRead more…
Swindon house prices race ahead of earnings
In a recent letter to the Swindon Advertiser I wrote about house price rises continuing to outstrip wages. Since then … MoreRead more…
Property price rises are bad news
The unattributed article, “Property prices rise in Swindon”, informed us that the average property price in April was £233,294. The … MoreRead more…
Labour, ‘gongs’ and the British Empire
Recently Shadow Cabinet Minister Kate Green was asked by Nick Robinson on his podcast whether she thought that honours should … MoreRead more…
Why can’t we have a “nation state law” over here?
Keir Starmer fails to condemn the racism of the Israeli state or to challenge far right racist views of an … MoreRead more…
Is Labour a democracy or an autocracy?
Is the Labour apparatus really going to war against its members rather than the Tory government? “Article 10 (of the … MoreRead more…
There’s too much lip service paid to tenant engagement
This is an article published in Inside Housing Tenants have to fight for the right to be consulted on a … MoreRead more…
An attack on democracy and freedom of criticism
“Article 10 (of the European Convention of Human Rights) will protect Labour Party members who, for example, make legitimate criticisms … MoreRead more…
Tenants right to choose
Prior to the pandemic Swindon’s council tenants were able to phone in any housing repair. During the pandemic the housing … MoreRead more…
Council tenants should have the choice of how they access housing services
A statement by Swindon Council tenant representatives Swindon Council has unilaterally decided that council tenants can only ask for non-urgent … MoreRead more…
Labour should stick to its manifesto promise on social rent council housing
New leadership of the party does not change the nature of the housing crisis or the solution members voted for: … MoreRead more…
The Labour leadership should be accountable to the Party members
The letter which David Evans, Labour Party General Secretary has sent to CLPs shows the anti-democratic intent of the current … MoreRead more…
Peter Beinart, Israel and the Labour Party
“It is time for liberal Zionists to abandon the goal of Jewish-Palestinian separation and embrace the goal of Jewish-Palestinian equality.” … MoreRead more…
No return to austerity – cancel local authority debt
A campaign initiated by the Labour Campaign for Council Housing calls for the government to cancel local authority debt held … MoreRead more…
Cancelling debt not unrealistic after all
This is an article published on the Inside Housing website under a different heading.. Swindon Tenants Campaign Group raised the … MoreRead more…
Needless deaths
The announcement by the government that they are writing off £13.4 million debt is welcome. However, this so-called debt is … MoreRead more…
The case for cancelling local authority debt
Rob Whiteman the Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy has warned of councils facing “a … MoreRead more…
Ban all evictions now
The government has reneged on its commitment to ban all evictions during coronavirus crisis The government announced that “as a … MoreRead more…