Politicians who continue to welcome contracts with US companies without considering the risks and consequences of total dependency in the years to come are undermining the raison d’etre of the NHS, argues Dr JOHN PUNTIS
Resolving the local government and housing crises: an open letter to Labour
The Labour Campaign for Council Housing is calling for support for an open letter on resolving the local government and housing crisis, writes MARTIN WICKS

WITHOUT a break from austerity the housing crisis will not be resolved. With a general election not far away and local government finances spiralling out of control, the question is posed of whether a Labour government will come to the rescue of local authorities or continue with austerity.
The Guardian editorial on the government’s Autumn Statement was right when it said that the next government “has either to repudiate Jeremy Hunt’s disastrous cuts or enact them.” The statement built-in austerity to pay for National Insurance cuts.
Media reports suggested that the Labour leadership had yet to decide whether or not to stick to Tory spending plans, as New Labour did in 1997.
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Above-inflation rent increases will push council tenants deeper into poverty while failing to address the housing crisis — and it won’t really raise any money, as council rent arrears are doubling across the country, argues MARTIN WICKS

Labour’s about to shift cost of new housing onto tenants, writes MARTIN WICKS arguing instead for cancelling the councils' HRA debt

MARTIN WICKS argues that the government’s reduced discounts for council house purchases don’t go far enough, and we need to be calling for the complete abolition of this regressive Thatcherite policy