The Labour Campaign for Council Housing has produced a Council Housing Pledge which we are asking Labour Parliamentary Candidates to support. With no more money for council housing in Labour's Manifesto, Right to Buy set to continue and investment in insulation/retrofitting/decarbonisation of existing homes scaled back to only £1.1 billion a year, it's important to … Continue reading General Election: Council Housing Pledge
‘Freedom to Buy’ “helps only a small minority and ignores the core problem”
Angela Rayner has announced Labour's “Freedom to Buy” policy. This is a mortgage guarantee to encourage mortgage providers to offer low deposits; a revamped version of the Tories Mortgage Guarantee Scheme (see note below). We haven't seen any detail (including costs) but the guarantee is to the mortgage provider should the buyer be unable to … Continue reading ‘Freedom to Buy’ “helps only a small minority and ignores the core problem”
Oppose a U-turn on Right to Buy
Rachel Reeves declares that Labour has no plans to reform Right to Buy Speaking at the National Housing Federation Housing Summit last September, Shadow Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, said “But as well as boosting social housing supply, we need to better protect the social housing stock we still have. One cannot fill a bath by … Continue reading Oppose a U-turn on Right to Buy
Meeting on decarbonising council housing
THIS MEETING HAS HAD TO BE POSTPONED. WE'LL LET YOU KNOW IN DUE COURSE WHEN IT HAS BEEN REARRANGED. We are holding a zoom meeting on May 25th at 3 p.m. on decarbonising housing. Speakers will include Clive Lewis MP, and Emma Taylor-Beal who works in the industry. In an article prior to the Labour … Continue reading Meeting on decarbonising council housing
The temporary accommodation crisis – “a fertile source of human misery”
Ahead of the Autumn Statement last year an emergency meeting was called by the District Councils Network to highlight the scale of temporary accommodation and the increasing financial pressure it was putting councils under. As a result of that meeting 119 councils signed a letter to the government calling for support. They called for an … Continue reading The temporary accommodation crisis – “a fertile source of human misery”
Government consultation on “reforms to social housing allocations”, publicised as “British homes for British workers”
Liz Davies KC is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers, specialising in housing law and in particular law on allocation of social housing and homelessness law. She is the co-author of Housing Allocation and Homelessness: Law and Practice (Luba, Davies, Johnston & Buchanan, LexisNexis, 2022, 6th edition). This blog was published by Garden Court Chambers … Continue reading Government consultation on “reforms to social housing allocations”, publicised as “British homes for British workers”
Most councils pessimistic about net zero because of national approach
A survey for the Local Government Association found action to tackle climate change was being “strangled” by the current arrangements under which councils must bid against each other for an array of Whitehall funding pots. The survey found two thirds (67 per cent) of councils were not confident in hitting their net zero targets, putting … Continue reading Most councils pessimistic about net zero because of national approach
Labour needs to break with austerity, not continue it
"Councils cannot provide the services nor the council homes that are needed if they are not funded on the basis of social needs." At the launch of Labour's local government campaign Keir Starmer was asked if a Labour government would plug the £4 billion funding gap of local authorities over the next two years; the … Continue reading Labour needs to break with austerity, not continue it
Worthing to introduce a selective licensing scheme
This is Councillor Emma Taylor's speech on her proposal to introduce a selective licensing scheme for private landlords in three areas in Worthing. "This report demonstrates Worthing Council’s ambition to better protect our citizens by tackling poor standards in private sector homes. The proposal is to develop a selective licensing scheme that will enable our … Continue reading Worthing to introduce a selective licensing scheme
Why I support the Labour Campaign for Council Housing
Bell Adeiro-Addy is the Labour MP for Streatham. The necessity of a campaign for council housing has never been greater. With a chronic lack of investment into affordable social housing, innumerable numbers of people are being forced into the private rental market where Section-21 No-Fault evictions are rife, landlord abuses and neglect are endemic, and … Continue reading Why I support the Labour Campaign for Council Housing
Labour Campaign for Council Housing 