The massacre of Red Crescent and civil defence aid workers has elicited little coverage and no condemnation by major powers — this is the age of lawlessness, warns JOE GILL
Latest editorial
We need 100,000 council homes a year not ‘affordable homes’
MARTIN WICKS urges Star readers to remind Labour of its primary housing concern
Homes 11/6/18
Public libraries are sanctuaries which facilitate the exploration of the universe of ideas for free for those curious enough. ROGER McKENZIE advocates their protection against authoritarian incursions, US style
Trump’s recent executive order ends union rights for a large number of federal workers, citing national security concerns after some unions vowed to oppose the massive cuts proposed by the new administration, writes PEOPLE’S DISPATCH
JOE BESWICK of the London Renters Union talks to the Morning Star’s new Left on Record programme
The unnecessarily violent police intervention at a Quaker place of worship is a PR disaster and will only serve to deepen the chasm between them and the public. SYMON HILL reports
ANDREW MURRAY wonders whether recent opinion polling and a fresh local authority by-election result in Ilford are an indication that the time is ripe for the left to make inroads
Due to the actions of this government, the challenges facing those with disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries, are nigh on insurmountable, argus RUTH HUNT
LABOUR’S housing green paper Housing for the Many has a fundamental flaw at its heart. It says that a Labour government “will introduce a new duty [on councils] to deliver affordable homes.”
Instead of abandoning the risible “affordable housing” label, the party proposes to redefine it with “a new affordability standard with three elements.” These are:
- Social rented homes. “Homes for social rent will form the core of Labour’s affordable housing programme.”
- Living rent homes. These will have rents set at “no more than a third of average local incomes.”
- Low-cost home ownership homes. These will include first-buy homes where the mortgage will be no more than a third of average local income.
We have been told that a £4 billion annual housing grant would be available under a Labour government.
More from this author
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
It’s high time for England to follow Scotland and Wales in ending the privatisation of collectively owned housing. MARTIN WICKS explains why