By Nick Bano, Joe Bilsborough, Lily Gordon Brown and Isaac Rose   “I’m very proud to support John Lewis” Sir Keir Starmer   “I love John Lewis” Boris Johnson     This month saw the eye-catching news that the John Lewis Partnership – purveyors of furnishings to the Parliamentary class – is setting its sights …

By Joan Ruthurford   I'm a retired town planner with an interest in campaigning for a more inclusive built environment.  I supported the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People (GMCDP) in responding to the Government's recent consultation on 'Raising accessibility standards for new homes'.  It will probably surprise no-one to learn that the consultation was …

By a CATU Phibsboro-Glasnevin member (@CGlasnevin)   Nowhere is Ireland’s long-running housing crisis more visible than between Dublin’s two canals, which ring the city centre from east to west. The four postcodes in this stretch account for around a third of all homeless people in the country, while average rents stand at an eye-watering €1,974.  …

By Tom Gillespie, Isaac Rose, Jonathan Silver     Factory opening   On the left bank of the River Irwell, where the Granada TV studios once stood, is a construction site ensnared in delays, overspend and hubris. Dubbed ‘The Factory’ in a not-so-subtle reference to Tony Wilson’s iconic record label, this site is the new …

By Sean Benstead (@SigmaAuto420)     This month is Gypsy, Roma & Traveller (GRT) History Month. The Labour Party have celebrated through the usual lines of communication, with some well-wishing graphics posted across social media. However, on June 1st — day one of the month — Pat Karney, a member of the executive of Manchester …

By Sean Benstead   Our report on public land privatisation published two weeks ago has sparked a political debate across our city on how we might better manage our public assets. Here we publish reflections from an organiser at Greater Manchester Labour for a Green New Deal.   Earlier this month, the Labour Party suffered …

By Alva Gotby    It is hard to deny that we are facing a crisis of evictions and homelessness. Right now we’re in a period of waiting for the crisis to happen, as it’s being temporarily held at bay by some minimal protections for renters. At least until the end of May, most tenants will …

By Isaac Rose (@_isaacrose)   It has been remarked that one of the best ways to understand the political composition of the grouping within Manchester Labour which control the Council is that they represent the ‘political wing of the construction sector’. This is suggested too by GMHA’s research: from a failure to collect S106 contributions …

61 organisations, including housing and climate groups, trade unions and charities, have signed an open letter to Andy Burnham calling for a democratic approach to managing public land in Greater Manchester. We publish the letter in full below. Email gmhousingaction@gmail.com to add your organisation.   To Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester,   A new …

By Greater Manchester Housing Action   A new report by researchers from the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield, in collaboration with Greater Manchester Housing Action, raises concerns about the privatisation of Council-owned land in central Manchester.   The report highlights a lack of transparency around public land deals and questions whether Manchester City Council is …