Millions of people are failed by a broken social care system. A National Care Service is the solution The government needs to get on with delivering affordable, personalised care - rather than wait for political consensus My thoughts in the Guardian 👇 www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Millions of people will be voting Green or Reform today - often for the first time The declining rate of homeownership is reshaping our politics In response, Labour must show that homeownership is a realistic prospect as an antidote to 'broken Britain' labourlist.org/2026/05/ben-...

Coastal communities matter. But Westminster have ignored them for too long. Labour has to deliver for the Sea Wall, if it wants to keep the coastal seats it won in 2024. Great to speak to Vicky Spratt about my favourite topic. inews.co.uk/news/how-lab...

...then we can change this picture (the worst regional inequality of any major high-income country)

If we change this picture (huge over-centralisation of economic power)...

It's not perfect, but few government policies are. And it has come a long way further than expected. It's a very big win all considered.

A lot of the groundwork was done in opposition, when we set out how devolution is a progressive agenda that can improve living standards in all regions - with this major Commission in 2023: fabians.org.uk/publication/...

And there it is...the devolution bill is an Act. Hard to comprehend how big a deal this is for devolution. It is huge step forward, and something many of us have been working toward for some time - not least the minister! @miattafahnbulleh.bsky.social www.gov.uk/government/n...

“Local authorities are looking to use low-use golf courses as a way of building great places to live” On @listentotimesradio.bsky.social, @bencooper1995.bsky.social explains that making it easier to build on golf courses could open up accessible green spaces for thousands of people.

"We can have house building [and] we can have more nature if you build on golf courses." Great to speak to the BBC InDepth about why we should make it easier to build on golf courses. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

English councils should be able to increase council tax premiums on second homes by 100%, 500% or more That is what I recommended in Home Comforts, a report for @thefabians.bsky.social last year It was taken up in Scotland, and it should be adopted by England www.telegraph.co.uk/money/bills/...

While global shocks push prices up, they aren’t the only reason for the cost of living crisis. We rely on poorly regulated markets for essentials, driving a poverty premium. From loyalty premiums to higher monthly charges, millions overpay. Ben Cooper on why Gov must step in @labourlist.bsky.social.

Great to see action on “subscription traps” today, which cost the average consumer around £170 a year Labour has a long history of taking on businesses that exploit vulnerable consumers for profit They should go further, as my @labourlist.bsky.social column argues labourlist.org/2026/04/ben-...

To learn how the next Scottish government can build more homes and tackle the housing emergency. You can read 'Housing the Future' 👇 fabians.org.uk/publication/...

“The next Scottish government should commit to a genuinely ambitious housing target that delivers the enough homes to meet need” @kathsangster.bsky.social & @bencooper1995.bsky.social explain how we can ensure homes are built across Scotland in @scotsman.com www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Great to see coverage of @bencooper1995.bsky.social's "Housing the Future" in @scottishhousingnews.com 👇 www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/sco...

Scotland is experiencing the worst housebuilding slump since the Second World War. The next Scottish government needs to get Scotland building again. My report for @scottishfabians.bsky.social and @thefabians.bsky.social Housing Centre sets out how. 👇

📺 Hear the full discussion about our new report 'Housing the Future' with @bencooper1995.bsky.social and Palma Oxley from our new explainer series 'The Briefing' 👇 youtu.be/KvvJtCICODo?...

🎙️Hear from Head of the Fabian Housing Centre, and author of Housing the Future @bencooper1995.bsky.social about his new report 👇

Read Housing the future here 👇 fabians.org.uk/publication/...

Increasing rural, remote and island housing supply through a statutory ‘right to build’ for small community schemes, a single permanent ‘Building Rural and Island Housing Fund’ worth £20m per year, and support for self-builders.

Reshaping affordable and social housing funding by introducing a five-year, inflation-linked settlement for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (£6.5bn in real terms over five years), with a further five-year indicative settlement, and creating a £500m Social Housing Quality Fund over ten years.

Recommendations include reforming the planning system to restore a presumption in favour of sustainable development and create simple decision making in places where development already exists; and allowing councils to set planning fees to recover costs.

The report sets out a blueprint for housing in Scotland, including a fresh target of 350,000 homes by 2036

Nine of the top 10 worst years for housebuilding since the second world war have occurred since 2007

This is equivalent to the size of Edinburgh or twice the size of Aberdeen

Modelling shows this leaves a total shortfall of a quarter of a million homes against the SNP's 2007 pledge

Rather than increasing, annual housebuilding is down 26 per cent since 2007-08, with just 19,177 homes completed in 2024–25 – from a peak of 25,788 in 2007–08

📢 New Report - Housing the Future: How Scotland can build homes again, by @bencooper1995.bsky.social for @scottishfabians.bsky.social and Fabian Housing Centre. Unambitious policy choices have created Scotland’s worst housebuilding slump since the Second World War 🧵

📢 New Report - Adopt, Innovate, Transform by Senior Researcher @sasjkia.bsky.social, supported by @fdaunion.bsky.social 🧵

Labour's spring statement showed progress but Gorton & Denton proved people still feel the pinch and popular policies haven't cut through. I argue policy & narrative must work together, relentless delivery backing up a story proudly told at every turn 👇 leftfootforward.org/2026/03/fabi...

Labour is at risk of being ejected out of power by a populist wave from Reform and the Greens. So how should the party respond? I argue in my @labourlist.bsky.social column that Labour embrace its own authentic tradition of populism. labourlist.org/2026/03/ben-...

"By tackling [housing costs] through comprehensive action, the government can make our country affordable again for everyone." Read my article for @bigissue.com on why the government should prioritise making housing - and the private rented sector - affordable. www.bigissue.com/opinion/priv...

The government can make our country affordable again for everyone. Ben Cooper, research manager at Fabian Housing Centre, writes.

Seems like a no-brainer way of addressing the housing crisis without damaging biodiversity, given that #golf courses take up twice as much land as all the current housing stock & are biodiversity deserts (that use huge amounts of water, put grass-treatment pollutants into watercourses...) KUTGW

Voters want more homes and more accessible green spaces. Building on golf courses is a way to deliver both. The government should make this argument - and they can win it. Read my column for @labourlist.bsky.social labourlist.org/2026/02/stop...

“The government can and should take full advantage of the work being done across this ecosystem” @emmaburnell.bsky.social of @labourlist.bsky.social reflects on Fabian New Year Conference, and why the progressive policy space matters for Labour. labourlist.org/2026/01/labo...

Making it easier to build houses, rail, streets is crucial part of social democracy, according to Olaf Scholz. @thefabians.bsky.social

Introduced the Renewing Our Communities session @thefabians.bsky.social New Year Conference. Spoke about the Housing Centre's work on affordability and building great places to live. And it was great to hear from @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social + @sarahsackman.bsky.social

Many lessons from devolved governance in different countries: 1. Devolving is hard (eg France) 2. Coordination and respect are vital (eg Italy) 3. Fiscal devolution is essential (eg Germany) The Devolution Bill is England's chance to do this properly.

My latest column for @labourlist.bsky.social is about building desirable homes that last and meet the changing needs of the country. This means two things: 1) Every home must be accessible and adaptable 2) A Future Homes Standard that cuts energy bills labourlist.org/2026/01/hous...

“As the party that swept away slums, built new towns, and renewed housing estates, Labour should be committed to building great places to live” You can read @bencooper1995.bsky.social's introduction to the edited collection here: fabians.org.uk/great-places...

Today, @thefabians.bsky.social and the Fabian Housing Centre are publishing Beyond Numbers: Building Great Places to Live. This edited collection looks at how to build attractive, high-quality homes in flourishing communities. fabians.org.uk/publication/...

🚨 New Edited Collection 🚨 
 “Building 1.5m new homes is crucial for the future of this country” @bencooper1995.bsky.social introduces “Beyond Numbers”, which explores how we can build high-quality homes and develop flourishing communities 🌳🏠

Hear from Brad in the Fabian events team about what is coming up at New Year Conference: Renewing Britain 👇 📅 Saturday 24 January 📍 Central London 📢 Speakers include @wesstreeting, @Ed_Miliband, @LucyMPowell and many more 🚨 PLUS a very special guest keynote speaker

Want to know what rural voters really care about and what should the government do? @thefabians.bsky.social have got you covered Here’s our recent set of essays, led by @bencooper1995.bsky.social discussing rural priorities: housing, buses, tourism, energy and more fabians.org.uk/publication/...

A fantastic achievement that will improve rights for many. In the new year, we'll be looking at next steps. But for now, a lot of people who have worked incredibly hard on this can finally celebrate.

There is a need to address quality and accessibility if our housing stock is to meet the needs of an ageing society The benefits are significant for NHS, cost of living and downsizing Read Millie Brown from @ageingbetter.bsky.social and I for @insidehousing.bsky.social on how we can do this 👇

New paper out today:

It is great to see the Guardian focus on the Sea Wall and coastal voters. I spoke about how good policy isn't enough. "There is a feeling of disconnect in many of these places, and unless they tackle that, Labour will still struggle.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...