While riding the No 3 bus in Glasgow MATT KERR has ample time to dissect the moribund Scottish Labour decline into near oblivion and watch intriguing bus passenger dynamics
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.
Edinburgh’s upcoming by-elections offer tenants a chance to put politicians under pressure over soaring rents and a council that has repeatedly sided with landlords and developers, says ADITI JEHANGIR
CLAUDIA WEBBE argues that Burnham’s U-turn on tackling greedy landlords has let the country down
Building is the solution for much of our housing crisis – and will also help to address poverty, ill health, and even anti-social behaviour and alienation, writes KENNY MacASKILL



