In Parliament the MP for West Dorset, Chris Loder, used the Johnson method, not bothering to check facts and concocting … MoreRead 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…
Different from the rest of us
Johnson appears incapable of recognising a real world event if it contradicts his opinion Many years ago Prime Minister Ted … 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…
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…
Prejudice against council housing
Russell Holland’s extraordinary outburst reported in the Advertiser ( £400k for no houses ‘money down the drain’) shows his prejudice … MoreRead more…
Swindon Advertiser journalists strike
Congratulations to the Adver journalists on having the courage to take industrial action. For the younger ones amongst them this will be the first time they have taken strike action. They would not have done so without having genuine grievances. Someti…Read more…
A ‘low wage, low welfare’ town
It’s all very well David Renard clutching the Cities Report for a photo opportunity, but if you want to make an objective assessment of the state of the town you have to look at all of it, rather than picking out a few tables which can be used to show the brilliance of our municipal […]Read more…
The surplus and the parishes
Some while ago I suggested to Swindon’s Cabinet that they should be pressing the government to abandon their target for a £10 billion surplus by 2020. As I pointed out to them if the target was break-even then the £6 billion of cuts to local government would not be necessary. They…Read more…
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island George Osborne’s Budget speech reminded me of the old saying, an empty vessel makes the most noise. He was talking about a fantasy island of his own imagining far removed from the real country in which all the victims of his austerity programme live. True, as journalist Paul…Read more…
Failure of ‘austerity’
Interesting to see that David Renard has signed a joint letter to the Observer with other Council leaders from all three main parties. It’s a shot across the bows of George Osborne in the run up to the autumn statement. It says that “further reductions (in local government funding) without…Read more…