This would undermine one of the best aspects of the Renters Rights Act. So this government, which is obsessed with making everything a compromise that pleases no-one, will probably do it.

I also see endless attempts to interpret the 'strategic' reasons for the war, or how it is a really a clever bid for more power in some way. And I'm sorry, that's how you analyse other administrations. These people are fools. Assume they are doing it for the stupidest, most self-serving reasons.

Spending more than £39bn over ten years on building new social homes? UK can't afford that. Spending £500bn over ten years on temp housing and housing benefit in large part down to a lack of housing - and in particular social housing? No problem.

Crazy idea, but hear me out. What if we just make a plan to stop relying on oil, and phase out most our usage over the next 15-20 years, and then never start another war in the middle east ever again?

Mindblowing story. The UK met most of the costs of a key propaganda tool used by the Israeli Government to launder its genocide in Gaza - then tried to cover up the fact it had done so.

As a matter of rhetoric, Polanski must drop the phrase ‘managed migration’, since it explicitly adopts the framing and language of anti-migrant parties like Labour, Conservatives, Reform, etc. Take the stronger position: ‘fair migration’ is sufficient. Everyone (except the racists) wants what’s fair

One of the main reasons I joined the Green Party is because they are the only party ready to take on the criminal racket of landlords and developers that have parts of this country in a chokehold. Vote Green.

Here's the conclusion of my new tenant organising article. Have a read to see how I think we can get there.

A rather spicy irony that a part of the Labour Party that claims to channel the true will of the working class would write...like this. I'm a fairly well-read person with a PhD and had to look up 'cache-misere'. NO, WE'RE THE TRUE VOICE OF THE WORKING CLASS, they shout as the voters all bugger off.

Not long ago the two main parties looked almost unassailable. And the funny thing is, they fucked themselves. Yes, you can say neoliberalism is dying so old parties struggle, but these particular two parties in this particular country indulged in years and years of entirely unnecessary self-harm.

I know the Matt Goodwin smears are nasty, but objectively it's quite funny that he's trying to depict a blonde-haired plumber with a Manc accent who rescues greyhounds as a threat to Western Civilisation. I can't imagine it's convincing anyone who wasn't already convinced by him.

It's time to normalise tenant unions! Some thoughts on growing the tenant union movement in Britain (and beyond) preorg.org/its-time-to-...

What a fucking idiot.

I have a hard time watching old movies and tv shows but the Twilight Zone absolutely zips by and is fun as hell because they essentially do what a show on Apple TV takes two seasons to accomplish in a half hour

One of the facts of this result the media mostly won't pick up on is that, despite the right wing radicalisation of our political and media class, the UK simply has a lot of left wing voters.

Me seeing that a job that requires a degree and several years' experience pays £30k, the same as in 2005: Woah, no wonder we are in shit! Highly paid political commentator with podcast: why does everyone distrust politicians so much? Why can't we see they are doing their best? It is a mystery!

Woke 2: The Deep Awokening will demand not only that people and organisations and states take concrete steps to address historical injustices, but that they believe deep within their hearts that it is right and necessary to do so, or risk being cancelled.

Here come the landlord dodges.

If you're in the UK, read the following and ask yourself: exactly how far away from this are we?

I don't really understand the point of this article, tho always good to raise the profile of ME/CFS. She tries a 'cure' that loads of other people have tried, with limited success, and discovers it doesn't work. Okay. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

I'm happy to see a Labour govt everyone hates taking a strong stance against drug decriminalisation. It is forcing lots of people to realise that if Labour is on the drug war side of the debate, it is probably the wrong side. A good learning moment for many former Labour members.

Alas this is Labour too now

'Fair' is when you help the rich more than the poor but some number is equal so it must be fair. It would be nice if centrist brains could pay a little more attention to fairness of outcome rather than process. The real fairness would be abolishing the debt and sorting out the wider tax system.

Class in the UK is such a bullshit term. You can still be working-class with a buy-to-let portfolio and a villa in Spain provided you're white and have a regional accent.

The super frustrating thing is that if you try to be rigorous about class even the leftists who claim to be class-based will constantly revert to folk conceptions of class. I think housing assets change class position but am often shouted at for it because e.g. homeowner didn't go to university.

This is so unsurprising. Labour could have implemented the end of Section 21 immediately but too many of them were landlords or friends of landlords.

Spicy take on the Owen Jones vid: both participants come out of it poorly. It's a silly reason not to vote for a party, but lots of people vote for silly reasons. It's better to just engage, e.g. "That's a shame, could be accidental, or they thought the door had a closer." Condescension never helps.

"We need rent controls"

Excellent stuff, would be great to see more of this working across tenant and labour unions.

I've also just seen 'must have a guarantor with £70k in the bank (or 2 with £35k each). More loopholes than a crocheting competition.

Yes we should

the Palestine Action ban really was a classic Starmer govt move: a hysterical overreaction that won them zero plaudits from the right, cost them badly to the left, and which got shot down in the end anyway.

Go Scotland!

This from @righttoroam.bsky.social is so typical of how this govt operates. No boldness, no vision, ever swayed by the lobbyists against our interests. Leasehold reforms are the same story, even tenant reform got delayed so landlords could evict more people. Weak and pathetic even when doing good.

I still think about this article, but reading Simone Weil on duties and rights brought it back to mind

Again and again, polling shows huge public support for rent caps. Few policies enjoy such backing from supporters of all parties. Time for politicians to listen - house building alone won't address the affordability crisis.

I want it to be Ed Mlliband just so he can start his acceptance speech with "X years ago Cameron gave you a choice of stability with his Tories, or chaos with Ed Miliband. Given the years of 'stability' since then, I think we can all agree it's time for Chaos With Ed Miliband."

Once again, we stand in the ruins of Sensible Centrists getting absolutely everything they wanted. Smart, Sensible, Grown Up, Serious politics has lead to this farce.

Selling the country out to antidemocratic forces for a few coins in their pockets.

Britain will remain ungovernable unless there's complete exposure of foreign money going to UK parties and politicians, showing precisely who it came from and who it went to. Labour, the Tories, and Reform can't and won't do that because they're up to their necks in it. They're all in it together.

An interview with The Left Berlin theleftberlin.com/housing-rent...

Can't believe I was naive enough a few weeks ago to wonder why the hell the NHS was making itself reliant on clear threat to democracy Palantir. Of course it was insider lobbying and corruption.

worth noting that the second rich people stopped being afraid of mobs tearing them limb from limb, they stopped building libraries and opera houses and stuff and started ripping the copper wiring out of the walls of society instead

She Will Only Bring You Happiness from The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not On Fire. From Mclusky, who have a lot of good titles. #whiteliberalonwhiteliberalaction

i don't particularly disagree with a lot of the critiques of anarchist activism by liberals but I bristle when they act as if their best practices are any wiser. we're here because none of us figured out how to avoid being here. everyone should have some goddamn humility.

In some universe I am surprised that a Reform councillor is a rogue landlord. But not this one.

When historians look at the West's reluctance to push hard on renewables when it was needed (and China taking the obvious path of doing so) they will conclude it was a washed-up civilisation and was bound to decline. Climate activists will be seen as the voice of reason they refused to listen to.