About Red Brick

The place for progressive housing debate

Red Brick is a progressive political blog with a particular focus on housing policy edited by Alex Toal since March 2024.

As a forum it is open to anyone interested in the progressive debate about housing, communities, and wider politics.

We are linked to the Labour Housing Group but the views expressed here are those of individual authors and/or the editors and are not necessarily the view of LHG or London LHG.

Through debate and the sharing of ideas in this open forum, we will help to develop sound Labour housing policies, support Labour councils to do their best to address housing needs, and support LHG to make sure housing is seen a priority for Labour.

It was founded in 2010 by Tony Clements and Steve Hilditch and been previously edited by our pseudonymous friend Monimbo.

Steve Hilditch

Founder of Red Brick. Former Head of Policy for Shelter. Select Committee Advisor for Housing and Homelessness. Drafted the first London Mayor’s Housing Strategy under Ken Livingstone. Steve sits on the Editorial Panel of Red Brick.

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Chris Worrall

Editor of Red Brick between May 2020 and August 2022. Former Non-Executive Director of Housing for Women. Labour Housing Group, Executive Committee. Exploring innovative new models in housing with care for Guild Living. MPhil in Real Estate Finance, University of Cambridge.

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  The Shared Accommodation Rate is prolonging homelessness
  Fraser Maclean, Policy and Communications Manager at Commonweal Housing, writes on the SAR’s impact on single people experiencing homelessness.
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  Social housing needs the Streeting treatment
  Andy Bates looks into the need to focus social housing to empower and put tenants first in the model of Wes Streeting’s NHS reforms, drawing from one of Streeting’s heroes Tony Crosland.
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  How the New Zealand retirement village model might work for the UK
  John Collyns, former Executive Director of New Zealand’s Retirement Villages Association writes about the success of Retirement Villages in New Zealand and what the UK could learn from their experience.
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  Will the Renters’ Rights Bill transform the Private Rented Sector?
  Ahead of the Renters’ Rights Bill’s Third Reading on 14th January, Jacky Peacock lays out the changes it will introduce and the need for firm enforcement through the database established by the Bill.