The right to buy is back – but this time the Tories have set their sights on housing associations. Stung by allegations that the Conservative’s message to the electorate is too negative, David…Read more…
Mansions debunked
The question of houses worth more than £2 million is currently in the news. To read some of the more florid press coverage you might think that we are all in danger of finding that our homes have accidently become mansions – this is simply nonsense of course. To get a quick shot of…Read more…
“Benefits Cheats”? But they’re within the rules.
JIM MURPHY, MP, Labour’s leader in Scotland, first made his name twenty years ago as leader of the National Union of Students, reversing the union’s opposition to the abolition of grants and…Read more…
UNISON Glasgow homeless service workers to take all out strike action
Monday 30 March 2015Seventy workers in Glasgow Council’s Homeless Service will walk out on Tuesday 31 March in a dispute over their pay grade.
The workers are all members of the trade union UNISON and will take all out, indefinite strike action in a dispute over the application of the council’s job evaluation scheme to the role of Homelessness Caseworkers. Three out of every fourRead more…
New housing book now available
What Future for Council Housing? Council Housing and the housing crisis A book by Martin Wicks There is much debate about the acute housing crisis in Britain though it is mostly the voices of housing professionals and academics that are heard, not to m…Read more…
UNISON Housing Association Branch Labour Link AGM with Emma Reynolds MP
Last Tuesday evening we had our Annual General Meeting of Greater London UNISON Housing Association Branch Labour Link at the House of Commons. UNISON Labour Link members (also known as APF) choose to support and affiliate to the Labour Party
Our keyn…Read more…
What future for Council Housing?
Council housing and the housing crisis A book by Martin Wicks Everybody knows there is a housing crisis. However, it is usually written about by academics or professionals who work in the housing sector. Tenant voices are rarely heard. What Future for …Read more…
House-building picked up in 2014 – but what will happen this year?
Is house building really recovering, as the government asserts, or is this just a good spin? Housing Minister Brandon Lewis welcomed new figures* showing a rise in the numbers of homes being built across the country, saying “Today’s figures show we’re on track and turning this around….Read more…
The case for fully devolving Housing Benefit
UNISON’s case for the full devolution of Housing Benefit has been supported by the respected think tank IPPR. Scotland needs all the policy levers to effectively address our housing crisis.
The…Read more…
Saturday Sectarian: Green Lies & the Green Housing vacuum
I have just enjoyed reading two very different posts on the Green Party and their policies.
The first was from the never shy nor retiring Kitty Jones on
“You’d have to be Green to believe the Green Party: two more lies exposed”.
While the other post by Steve Hilditch “The grass isn’t any greener…Read more…
Election of CIH London Regional Board 2015
I have just voted on-line for a new Chartered Institute of Housing Regional Board for London. I had to support my former Tower Hamlets colleague Jan Taranzuk. The only Chief officer I have ever known who use to work in Housing and at the same time live…Read more…
Tenants’ Win, and Russel Vindicated
I’VE never been a fan of Russel Brand. Just not my cup of tea. I’ve never watched his programme, didn’t like his treatment of Andrew Sachs or talk about “booky-wook”, and I went as far as to…Read more…
Autumn Statement 2014 stamp duty give away will do nothing to solve the housing crisis
Many eyes will be on the stamp duty tax cuts announced in the autumn statement today, but this will do little to address the UK’s entrenched housing crisis. A very unpalatable truth for supporters of the current government is that total home ownership has declined in every year since 2008….Read more…