Complaints over unsafe housing taking a year to resolve after campaign to speed it up March 28, 2023 Social housing tenants are being forced to wait 12 months or more for the housing ombudsman to deal with complaints of unsafe conditions, despite a government campaign to speed up the process. Earlier this year, Michael Gove, the Housing Secretary, launched the “Make it Right” advertising campaign, directing people to complain to the housing ombudsman [...]
Build, Baby, Build: You don’t solve a supply crisis by juicing demand June 18, 2024 Both parties are making big promises on housebuilding, but the policies being put forward are nothing new at best and actively harmful at worst, says Henry Hill This election is an important milestone in this country’s long-running housing crisis, because it is probably the first one in which both major parties have formally acknowledged that [...]
Gove planning shake-up: ‘We need housing today, not tomorrow’ July 24, 2023 Michael Gove will loosen planning laws to allow vacant shops to be converted into homes as part of his latest efforts to tackle the UK’s housing crisis. On Monday the minister for housing and levelling up revealed a slew of planning reforms as well as a further commitment to building over 1m new homes across [...]
Women’s World Cup final: ‘We wouldn’t think twice for the men’ so open pubs early for Lionesses, councils urged August 18, 2023 Pubs across England are hoping a minister’s letter to councils across England means venues can open early for the World Cup final on Sunday. 4.6m people tuned in on a working day to watch the Lionesses progress to their first World Cup final with the win being the most-watched game of the tournament so far. [...]
The Notebook: So, when does Labour actually become pro-business? August 20, 2024 The honeymoon is over, Labour needs to start walking the walk when it comes to being pro-business, writes Michael Martins.
Will it work? Taxing private school fees March 28, 2024 It’s an election year. Politicians are giving us a barrage of policies. But we often forget to ask the most important question: will they actually work? In this column Sam Fowles take policies on their own terms and asks whether they solve the problem they’re supposed to solve. Labour’s pledge to end the VAT exemption [...]
Persimmon: New home completions down a third as UK housebuilding woes continue January 10, 2024 High inflation and cost of raw materials has made it more expensive to build houses, while higher interest rates have suppressed demand for buyers.
Explainer-in-brief: Behind the scenes of a Tory leadership race July 8, 2022 The Conservative party elections take place when a leader resigns or loses a vote of no confidence. They work in two stages: in the first one, two main contenders are put forward; in the second one, party members vote and decide who’s going to be the new leader. The rules – including how an MP [...]
Levelling Up: Rishi Sunak defends £2bn fund after Labour slams it as ‘Hunger Games-style contest’ January 19, 2023 Rishi Sunak has defended his latest levelling up plans after they came under fire from the Labour Party, who accused the government of unfairly favouring the south east of England over the north east. The government yesterday announced they will funnel £2bn of investment into the country’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda to fund over 100 separate [...]
Demolition of M&S Oxford St store put on hold by Gove April 20, 2022 The bulldozing of the iconic Marks & Spencer building on Oxford St has been put on pause by the government. According to a report by the BBC, Michael Gove asked Westminster council to press pause on a demolition application. Under an Article 31 holding direction, a local authority cannot green light planning permission until ministers [...]