While many believe our political system moves painfully slowly, it is nothing compared to the time taken to lay bricks down and build a house. Days after the Windrush migrants’ scandal triggered a mini Cabinet reshuffle, James Brokenshire MP returned to the Cabinet to take the reins at MHCLG, becoming the sixteenth minister to hold the portfolio for housing since 2000. Just days after that, … Continue reading Politics moves fast. Housing moves slow.
It is telling that it was Plymouth rather than London where Jeremy Corbyn chose to spend the morning of May 4th. Despite expectations that Labour would take control of at least one of Barnet, Wandsworth or Westminster councils, their big victory on the night came in the south west. Standing on Plymouth Hoe, Corbyn declared that the result demonstrated that Labour was ‘back in the … Continue reading Plymouth – Labour’s big victory?
Let’s start with the easy bit: UKIP was definitely the biggest loser on the night. Through a combination of not defending some seats and being soundly beaten in others, the party ended up with an overall loss of over 120 councillors. Safe to say, that dog has had its day. Then it gets harder. Labour promised us so much in the weeks leading up to … Continue reading No Dramas: The Local Elections That Suited The Tories Just Fine
61% believe housing crisis is getting worse 51% blame slow build out rate by developers Providing affordable homes the top priority 60% believe viability assessments being used by developers to avoid planning obligations 43% agree that Green Belt should be reviewed Newgate Communications’ Planning Committee Barometer reveals local councillors’ views on planning issues with housing delivery high up the agenda. 61% think that the housing … Continue reading New research reveals local councillors think housing crisis is getting worse
I recently helped to organise a local election debate. They’re particularly unique experiences that people either love and wouldn’t miss for the world or – more usually – avoid like the plague. This means that the majority of people who attend already have strong feelings about one particular party, candidate or issue. These issues can range wildly, which makes the events unpredictable – part of … Continue reading Local election hustings – bins, missed manifestoes and vendettas
In the North West all eyes are on Trafford. A third of the Council are up for election in May and there is a feeling that the Conservatives keeping control is by no means a done deal. For one thing, they currently have a very slim majority and it would only take a loss of two seats to make the local authority go to No … Continue reading Are the Tories about to lose their Greater Manchester outpost?
The Context Yesterday saw the release of Labour’s Housing green paper, ‘Housing for the Many’, exactly a fortnight from the local elections due to take place in May. It’s tempting to see this as a reprise of Labour’s strategy in last year’s General Election of drip-feeding big headline policy announcements in the run-up to the poll – particularly given the gains it is hoping to … Continue reading What Labour’s Housing Green Paper could mean for housebuilders and developers
The article below featured in the April edition of Housebuilder magazine. Newgate partner, Zoe Ensor, head of Newgate North, thinks it is time that industry experts stepped forward to become councillors to shift the balance in council chambers. The media spotlight landed on a new phrase recently with the public being introduced to the term ‘land banking’. The Prime Minister’s determination to shift focus away … Continue reading Newgate in Housebuilder magazine: Stepping up to the council plate
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