London Finance Commission puts the investment cat amongst the austerity pigeons
Mayor Boris Johnson is good at making a loud noise and bad at delivering anything of any value to Londoners.
Red Brick - Posted 17/05/2013

The Benefit Cap: the real cost to local authorities
The effect that the Benefit Cap will have on homelessness and the use of temporary accommodation is a complicated and confusing area, but as most of the current legislation remains unchanged, it is possible to envisage the likely outcomes for local authorities’ duties and resources.
Red Brick - Posted 10/05/2013

Reflections on a career
It is forty years since I first met Richard Crossley and we have been good friends and sometimes house mates since. We learned the community development ropes together in North Paddington in the 1970s and have debated the issues around housing and community empowerment at great length ever since.
Red Brick - Posted 09/05/2013

Subsidised council tenants? You must be joking.
It seems like every day I read something about ‘subsidised council tenants’.
Red Brick - Posted 02/05/2013

Switching from benefits to building
The welfare reform debate inside the Labour Party appears to have reached a crossroads...... again.
Red Brick - Posted 29/04/2013

Shed a tear for Mr Osborne
George Osborne may have shed a tear for Mrs Thatcher this week, but a reading of the Treasury Select Committee’s report on the Budget should make him feel even more miserable, as serious questions were raised about his biggest-ever housing initiative, the so-called ‘Help to Buy’ scheme.
Red Brick - Posted 22/04/2013

Sorry, CIH, but Boris couldn’t care less
The blurb advertising the upcoming Chartered Institute of Housing London Conference starts with a surprising statement. It says:
Red Brick - Posted 18/04/2013

Lies, damned lies, statistics, and Iain Duncan Smith
It seems that ’40,000 affected households’ is a back-of-the-fagpacket figure dreamed up by DWP to replace their previous and equally fanciful estimate of 56,000
Red Brick - Posted 15/04/2013

Thatcher’s housing legacy
No doubt readers aren’t interested in my general views about Margaret Thatcher.
Red Brick - Posted 09/04/2013

Vile Products
After Frederick West was convicted of despicable murders, no-one wrote a headline saying he was the ‘Vile Product of Home Ownership’.
Red Brick - Posted 03/04/2013