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.
- Standardising Section 106 agreements is overdue. Making it stick will be harder.
Mike Reader, Member of Parliament for Northampton South, sets out the path for fixing the Section 106 process through standardisation and national leadership - Labour’s Commonhold Bill is the start of the end of the leasehold nightmare
Red Brick editor Alex Toal sets out what is in Labour’s new Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill and what else the Government is doing to end the many problems inherent in leasehold. - Delivering 1.5 million homes: transforming the vision into reality with a Target Operating Model
What is a Target Operating Model and Why is it Needed A… Read more: Delivering 1.5 million homes: transforming the vision into reality with a Target Operating Model - The Future of Home Buying: Can the government finally fix England’s broken housing transaction system?
Angela Hesketh, Head of Government and Public Affairs at PEXA, sets out how the Government can simplify the home buying process to lower costs and provide certainty to consumers