Scaremongers like Bill Bryson reinforce harmful green belt myths
Suggest that just a small fraction of green belt land could meet our housing needs and the nimbys accuse you of wanting to concrete over all of itThe green belt is becoming one of the most...
View ArticleLambeth wanted to demolish our homes. We said that was illegal - and we were...
Cressingham Gardens residents have won a David and Goliath battle against our local council. It was worth the effortMore than three years after Lambeth council told us our estate had been put into a...
View Article2015 in housing: 12 months of growing crisis
We look back on a year of escalating protests over dwindling social housing supply and a Tory focus on homeownership despite booming costsThe new year brought housing inequality into sharp focus,...
View ArticleThe forgotten casualties and hidden health problems of gentrification
Most studies focus on the impact on families forced out of their homes, often overlooking the fate of those left behindDo we really understand the impact of gentrification? The term was first used in...
View ArticleDavid Cameron will not be able to redevelop 'sink estates' without a fight
The money he’s offering to transform postwar estates is peanuts, while protests against social cleansing and rapacious developers show no signs of abating“Concrete slabs dropped from on high, brutal...
View ArticleHousing blew up the global economy in 2008 and we learned nothing
Watching The Big Short gave me deja vu – mistakes made in the US before the financial crash are being replicated in the UK housing marketFive years ago, if you’d told me I’d spend a Sunday evening in a...
View ArticleLevy on luxury London homes would net £86m a year for social housing
Property tax would force global super-rich to subsidise affordable housing, say researchersThe government could raise more than £86m a year for social and affordable housing by imposing a premium...
View ArticleLambeth council's campaign to hammer home the reality of cuts
The London borough’s chief executive has tough choices to make and wants to get residents on sideIf there’s one thing governments bent on austerity hate it’s local councils batting the blame for cuts...
View ArticleBuilding on the green belt crucial to solving London's housing crisis
The mayor’s move to protect London as a place for work is welcome, but tough decisions on housing need to be madeIn a city with demand for housing as high as London, it might seem odd for the mayor to...
View ArticleSiân Berry: 'It's not OK to tell council tenants to move out of London'
The Green party’s mayoral candidate fiercely defends council estates and wants to see more cooperatives and self-build to tackle the capital’s housing crisis“The biggest problem is affordability – the...
View ArticleZac Goldsmith: 'I'm the only candidate talking up estate regeneration'
The Conservative running for London mayor wants to improve areas without locking out residents, and explains why he welcomes overseas investment in housingZac Goldsmith has represented Richmond Park...
View ArticleSadiq Khan: 'As mayor I'll give first dibs on housing to Londoners'
Labour’s candidate says he will encourage big business to invest in London’s housing market and ensure that residents come first in the housing queueFor Sadiq Khan, running to be London mayor after 10...
View ArticleCaroline Pidgeon: 'The Lib Dems want renters to have the strong hand'
The London mayoral candidate explains why she’d be tough on rogue landlords, and pledges to create a city-wide construction academy for housebuildingCaroline Pidgeon has been a politician for 18 years:...
View ArticleWhere do four leading London mayoral candidates stand on housing?
The biggest issue for Londoners is housing. We ask Siân Berry, Zac Goldsmith, Sadiq Khan and Caroline Pidgeon to reveal their housing policies A YouGov poll from March 2016 showed that housing is the...
View ArticleSadiq Khan must decide who to side with: residents or developers?
The London mayoral campaign became the housing campaign – the winner must force government to take demand and affordability more seriouslyFour years ago, Londoners ranked housing as the fourth most...
View ArticleDarkness is a luxury not granted to Britain's council estates
Lighting in social housing aims for maximum visibility for better CCTV surveillance. Only more affluent neighbourhoods have access to darknessMost people do not think of darkness as a luxury. But if...
View ArticleRayners Lane: estate regeneration that puts residents first
Entire communities are razed when regeneration follows the standard, developer-led model. Successful projects put the social landlord in chargeEstate regeneration has earned a bad name. It invariably...
View Article'I can't believe how I've flowered as a tenant on a housing board'
Being a member of the Lewisham Homes board has helped Ophelia Bobori develop new skills and given residents a voice of challenge and probityOphelia Bobori probably has her daughter to thank for...
View ArticleSadiq Khan attacks empty luxury flats, but his housing policies are also void
While the London mayor attacks foreign investors for using homes as ‘gold bricks’, his policies to tackle the housing crisis are starting to diluteFrom the balcony of my flat in south London, you can...
View ArticleThe problem is not London's foreign investors – it's where their money goes
It is possible to discuss housing without being xenophobic – people of all nationalities are treating property as gold bricks and avoiding UK taxFor some people, it’s Pavlovian: mention the housing...
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