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 …

By Greater Manchester Housing Action   On the 15th April an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Berlin renters took to the streets to protest against the Federal Constitutional Courts decision to void Berlin’s attempt to stop rising rents and community displacement.   The ruling was a sad day for those carving out the dialogue and fight …

By Vik Chechi-Ribeiro (@VikCR86)   In October, Vik wrote a piece for GMHA titled ‘Trade Unions, workers and the housing struggle’ where he outlined the need for joint organising between trade unions and renter unions. Here we publish a follow up piece, reflecting on activity that has taken place since that article; and sketching further …

By Nigel de Noronha (@denoronhanigel)   This contribution to the debate about housing after Covid argues that racial discrimination is a long-standing feature of British housing policy, provides emerging evidence of racial inequalities in debt and future housing expectations, and proposes the grounds for a broad-based campaign to re-assert the right to adequate, affordable housing …

By Caitlin Colquhoun (@ckcolq)   Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) are being increasingly employed across the country. The centre of Manchester has not been spared in their rollout, with the latest attempt to introduce a PSPO in Manchester City Centre. The effects of PSPOs are far-reaching. They give the police broad powers to limit the …

By the Greater Manchester Law Centre (@gmlawcentre)   280,000 are homeless in England 750,000 are behind on their rent 2000 possession orders were made in the run up to Christmas 500 households were evicted by bailiffs despite eviction ban   On 31 March 2021, the current eviction ‘ban’ ends and the extended warning of eviction …