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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … More

Radicalising Labour’s housing policy

This is an article published in Labour Briefing The contradiction between Labour’s official housing policies and the more radical aspirations … More

We need 100,000 council homes a year, not “affordable homes”

Labour’s Housing Green Paper, Housing for the many, has a fundamental flaw at its heart. It says that a Labour … More

Labour’s Housing Green paper – Part 2

Labour should introduce a duty on councils to build council housing in the framework of the housing revenue account Labour’s … More

Swindon: the real picture – Part 2

Crisis of housing affordability Both David Renard the Council Leader and MP Robert Buckland highlighted from the Centre for Cities … More

Is Labour’s Housing policy shifting leftwards?

Is Labour’s housing policy shifting leftwards? It’s official policy of suspending Right to Buy (RTB) sales was introduced by Teresa … More