As quoted in the Swindon Advertiser, Matthew Courtliff appeared to be suggesting that the extra borrowing for the council’s Housing … MoreRead more…
East Ham – “Progress with the People”
Being proud of living in West Ham for over 30 years I am sometimes accused of forgetting the other part of modern day Newham – East Ham. I actually think that East Ham town hall is more striking than West Ham (Stratford) and I am very proud that s…Read more…
Denying the housing crisis in Swindon
Back in October David Renard, in his capacity as Environment spokesperson for the Local Government Association wrote that “There is … MoreRead more…
Council Housing in Llandudno – Municipal Dreams
If you want to know more about the history of Council housing check out these posts
“Council Housing in Llandudno: Part I, to 1939” and “Council Housing in Llandudno, Part II Post-1945” in the Website “Municipal Dreams”.
Picture is of the first C…Read 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…
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…
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…
2020 Budget: where’s the grant for council house building?
The 2020 budget indicates that the new Affordable Homes Programme starting in 2021 would have £12.2 billion funding. This is … MoreRead more…
Only 5% of new homes funded by Homes England grant are ‘social rent’
“Affordable rent is a new funding model, which involves three main changes: housing providers can charge higher rents for affordable … MoreRead more…
Councils need some serious funding if they are to return to large-scale housebuilding
This is an article for Inside Housing magazine A week after the General Election Swindon Council leader David Renard wrote … MoreRead more…
Rent increase: tenants should not pay the cost of government underfunding of council housing
Swindon council will argue that their proposed above inflation 2.7% rent increase for council tenants in 2020-21 is acceptable because … MoreRead more…
Newham Planning Committee approves 3 new developments at 100% social rents; rough sleeping assessment centre & new emergency family accommodation
This evening I took part in a 3 hour plus Newham Council Local Development Committee (LDC) meeting (small scale planning). There were 20 applications to consider.
There were 3 applications by Newham Council regeneration team for new build developments…Read more…
Swindon as dormitory town?
According to government statistics not a single ‘social rent’ home was added to Swindon’s housing stock over the last five … MoreRead more…
The government increases the cost of ‘borrowing to build’
When local authorities build council housing, even if they receive central government grant, they borrow from the government’s own Public … MoreRead more…
The “Addison Act” and the building of Pinehurst
Parallels between the housing crisis in 1919 and today This pamphlet draws on original research into the Addison Act and … MoreRead more…
Why Labour should commit to £10 billion a year for council housing
This article was published by Inside Housing . For those without access to IH you can read on below. Pete … MoreRead more…
A fundamental change in Labour’s housing policy?
The composite housing resolution which went before Labour’s conference on Wednesday morning was passed unanimously. It marks a fundamental shift … MoreRead more…