An easy way to solve the housing crisis
May 27, 2007
Barking MP Margaret Hodge’s attempt to enter the housing debate last week was a gift to the British National Party. She suggested that there should be some sort of priority in housing based on long-term residence.
The BNP made the most of her comments, which have encouraged a largely negative debate about the “rights” of people to access scarce resources such as housing when they are legally resident in Britain. Read more
In your back yard?
May 22, 2007
On Monday, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Ruth Kelly announced major changes to the planning system in Britain.
Her opening gambit was to gather around her the glow of the successful and seminal 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, which helped to create national parks and protect the green belt around all major cities. It was one of many very progressive pieces of legislation passed by the post-war Labour government. Read more
Time for change
May 8, 2007
This week’s papers have carried a number of stories detailing how Chancellor Gordon Brown will change government policies as soon as he becomes prime minister.
While much of the coverage has been interesting, it shows supreme arrogance on the part of Brown, his friends and the vast majority of the British media, all of which refuse to acknowledge that there is another very credible candidate standing for the leadership - John McDonnell. Read more
A chance for change?
May 1, 2007
Vienna is a city that has seen it all. It was the centre of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the Habsburg dynasty constructed magnificent palaces, theatres, churches and museums there.
Despite its long, slow decline, the empire remained powerful until WWI. It hosted the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which essentially drew the map of post-Napoleon Europe. After the collapse of the empire at the end of WWI, Austria eventually succumbed to the Nazis through the disastrous 1938 Anchluss pact. The city retains today a magnificent combination of wonderfully preserved fine buildings and an excellent public transport system. Life in Vienna seems worlds away from the realities of poverty and war that beset much of the planet. Read more
