By Greater Manchester Housing Action   Last month we were sad to share the news of the death of one of core members, Debi Blanchard. She was at the heart of everything we did and a true champion for the marginalised in our city. Below we publish a selection of tributes from GMHA members past …

By Gareth Fearn   When you mention ‘the planning system’ to most people in the UK they will probably either roll their eyes or have no idea what you are talking about. Even for many of those interested and active in some form of leftist politics, the planning system itself tends to not be a …

By James Varney   I’ve lived in Manchester since 2015. In those eight years I’ve come to learn that Manchester is a city which refuses to remain the same shape. I often tell visitors from out-of-town, ‘You can leave Manchester for two weeks and get lost when you come back.’ It’s not really a joke. …

By Paul O'Connell (@pmpoc)   It may be controversial, to some, to compare the language and policies of the British government towards refugees with the language of “1930s Germany”, but in truth there are enough parallels between the 1920s and 1930s and our present era of crisis to merit some comparison. There are also important …

By Lily Gordon-Brown (@lilygbrown)   On a recent trip to New York City (NYC), I hoped to gain an insight into how the deep-rooted financialisation and diminished affordability of the city compares to the happenings on this side of the Atlantic. More so, I was excited to see how the growing housing movement across the …

By Jonathan Silver (@InvisibleMapper)   This year, the invasion of Ukraine brought sharp focus to the global wealth that has surged into British real estate over the last few decades. Around the time of the invasion, calls from across British society to seize oligarch owned property came from what might have previously seemed like unlikely …

By Jacob Stringer   A recent visit to Berlin has given me much cause to reflect on the thorny topic of how to win better housing for everyone. I have been part of the London Renters Union for 5 years and while little in housing has improved in that time, we have always been able …

by Lilly Hill   A report from the frontlines of the battle to save Ryebank Fields.   Walking through the football fields of Longford Park in south Manchester, with their striking view of the city’s ever expanding skyline in the mid distance, through a gap in the blackberry bushes, you suddenly find yourself submerged in …

By Abi O'Connor (@abioconnor_)   The Conservative party takeover of Liverpool City Council represents a perfect storm in which corporate powers are able to trial new forms of urban governance which are vacant of democratic representation and wholly unaccountable to the people of the city. The possibility of these even further mechanisms of privatisation reveals …

By Lily GB (@lilygbrown)   “Thrones are crashing everywhere, and the men of property are secretly trembling” (p. 27)     The ‘manmade’ environment is a colloquialism so embedded in everyday dialogue that we rarely pause to dissect the meaning behind it. While it often refers to ‘human’ made constructs, it is also reflective of …