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 Rose Grayston since March 2026.

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.

Red Brick editors:

2010 – 2022: Tony Clements, Steve Hilditch and Monimbo

2022 – 2024: Sheila Spencer

2024 – 2026: Alex Toal

2026 – Rose Grayston

Rose Grayston

Rose is editor of Red Brick. She has worked to develop and win support for solutions to the UK’s housing crisis as Expert Adviser to Matthew Pennycook, Minister for Housing and Planning, as a Labour activist and founding member of Open Labour, and through roles at Shelter, the New Economics Foundation and Generation Rent.

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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  Housing-led regeneration has untapped potential to tackle the housing crisis and to build a thriving North
  Northern Housing Consortium Chief Executive Tracy Harrison shares key findings from the Renew inquiry report ‘Unlocking over 500,000 good quality homes in the North’. The report launched in parliament this week with an event attended by MPs and peers, including Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, and industry experts.
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  Regeneration means delivering for northern communities
  Andrew Cooper is MP for Mid Cheshire and Chair of the Renew Westminster Group. Ahead of the parliamentary launch of the inquiry’s interim report ‘Unlocking over 500,000 good quality homes in the north’, he sets out how housing-led regeneration gives Government the opportunity to connect national objectives – growth, opportunity, and fairness – with the everyday places where people live their lives.
• 
  What should a national tenant body for England do?
  Social housing tenant and activist Rob Gershon argues that after years of promises around tenant voice and regulation, England urgently needs a properly resourced national tenant body with real influence.
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  New regulation means social housing tenants should be heard and respected – the reality is different for many tenants
  Kai Jackson, Special Membership Project Lead at Tpas argues that while stronger consumer regulation and Awaab’s Law are reshaping social housing, many ethnic minority tenants still feel unheard, excluded and mistrusted within housing systems.