Trump’s escalation against Venezuela is about more than oil, it is about regaining control over the ‘natural’ zone of influence of the United States at a moment where its hegemony is slipping, argues VIJAY PRASHAD
Shelter social housing report: a wake-up call for Labour
Not only is Labour still fudging the difference between 'social housing' and council housing proper, but its projected spending will not measure up, writes MARTIN WICKS
Evidence suggests Lammy’s proposals would come at a high cost: reduced fairness, diminished trust and greater racial inequality in the criminal justice system, argue TARA LAI QUINLAN and KATHARINA KARCHER
From the workhouses of the 1840s to today’s market capitalism, A Christmas Carol remains a sharp critique of charity rationed by class, says KEITH FLETT
The argument for a “significant expansion” of nuclear power will deliver soaring electricity prices that condemn underserved communities to unending hardship and poverty, argues LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
The new plan sets out an uncompromising bid for global dominance, casting even allies as obstacles to be subdued, writes DIANE ABBOTT
As we approach the half-anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy, the community gathers to remember loved ones while grappling with mixed emotions surrounding the ongoing deconstruction of the tower and the hopeful plans for a memorial, writes EMMA DENT COAD
RESPONDING to Shelter's social housing report shadow housing minister John Healey said the commission’s target of 3.1 million homes in 20 years was “consistent with the scale of Labour's ambition to build a million new “genuinely low-cost homes” in the first 10 years in power. The report was apparently “a wake-up call” to the Conservatives. I would venture to suggest that it is a wake-up call for Labour as well.
For Mr Healey to suggest that the Shelter report “measures up to Labour's ambition” is disingenuous. Shelter is suggesting 155,000 “social” homes (council and housing association) a year for 20 years, spending £10.7 billion a year. Contrast that with Labour’s policy: £4 billion a year grant for “genuinely low-cost homes” which includes “affordable home ownership” rather than all being devoted to social housing.
Labour is proposing to give councils a duty to promote “affordable housing.” Since this includes “affordable ownership” a council could bid for grant solely to build homes for sell and it would still be fulfilling this duty without building a single council home. That’s why we have suggested that Labour should give councils a duty to build council housing.
Similar stories
CAROL WILCOX argues for the proper implementation of the land value tax, which could see unused plots sold off and landlords priced out of landlordism, potentially resolving the housing and planning crises
GLYN ROBBINS celebrates how tenant-led campaigning forced the government to drop Pay to Stay, fixed-term tenancies and council home sell-offs under Cameron — but warns that Labour’s faith in private developers will require renewed resistance
Above-inflation rent increases will push council tenants deeper into poverty while failing to address the housing crisis — and it won’t really raise any money, as council rent arrears are doubling across the country, argues MARTIN WICKS