The housing crisis is a national scandal

This article originally appeared on Progress Online on 24th September 2018

Theresa May has orchestrated some excellent PR this month. In a last minute attempt to paper over some quite significant gaps in her government’s domestic agenda ahead of Tory conference, a number of half-baked housing policies have flown off the shelf.

Most notably came the announcement of £2bn in funding for housing associations. There are a few snags with this though. First, its déjà vu from this time last year when May announced a £2bn council house building fund at the 2017 Tory conference. It was the first time since 2010 that the government had committed any new funding to social housing. Unfortunately 12 months on we are still waiting for this fund to materialise – along with the homes our country desperately needs.

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The Tories have no plan to grow the economies and cultures of our towns and cities

This article orginally appeared in the New Statesman on 24th Septembeer 2018

Most people agree that the vote for Brexit was in part driven by the economic and political disenfranchisement of many communities across the country, which for too long have been overlooked by Westminster.

That’s particularly true of small towns in the Midlands, North and on the coast. These places have lost their traditional industries and the same areas have been hit badly by the Tory government and the austerity over the past eight years.

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Annie Kenney ready to return home to Oldham

A big step towards finally recognising Oldham’s working class Suffragette Annie Kenney

The Annie Kenney Project has taken a huge leap forward this week, with the clay statue formally being handed over to the Foundry.

It’s a first glimpse of the statue, with its amazing detail and quality by the hands of sculptor Denise Dutton.

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Boundary Commission – final recommendations

The Boundary Commission has presented its final recommendations to Government.

The process started in 2011 under the then Tory and Lib Dem government and sought to reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600 within constituencies of roughly equal size.

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 A crisis of indifference

Hundreds of councillors and council leaders gathered in Birmingham last week to discuss the big issues facing local government. But it while the sun was shining bright there was a destiny dark cloud over head.

We’ve become used to hearing of the dramatic and disproportionate cuts affecting local government. We’ve seen in every community – though some much more than others – the real impact as basic services have been reduced, facilities lost and a fire sale on land and property.

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We need a properly funded social care system, with greater devolved powers to local areas like ours

A nation should be judged on how it invests in the next generation, and how it looks after those who have contributed all their lives to our country. On both tests the government has consistently failed.
 
Earlier this year, the Secretary of State for Health announced a forthcoming green paper which will lay out plans to tackle the country’s escalating adult social care crisis. A decade on from the financial crisis and after eight hard years of cuts to local authorities, there has been little action on putting in place a foundation of fair funding for the future. Meanwhile, there has been at best a half-hearted effort to devolve and forge integrated health provision at a city and local level. The green paper must address a range of key challenges.

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