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.
- Ending rough sleeping can be achieved under Labour
Emily Darlington, Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes Central and Chair of the Backbench Committee for the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, lays out how national Government can learn from Milton Keynes’ success to address rough sleeping - Fix renting to fix lives
Dr Beth Kitson, Research and Policy Analyst at PBE, explores how renters are not just paying more in rent, but also paying the price in lower wellbeing. Housing reform is not only about correcting markets, it’s about improving people’s everyday lives. - Tackling second homes and short-term lets is key to addressing rural inequality
Jayne Kirkham, Member of Parliament for Truro and Falmouth, lays out the issues which second homes and short-term lets pose to rural communities and the tools local authorities need to address them - ‘So what has Labour done differently?’ – 50 housing wins from Labour’s first year in power
From planning for 1.5 million homes to a generational boost in social housing, improving building safety and fixing flawed tenures, Labour’s first year in office has marked a step change in addressing the housing crisis.