Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 4hBadenoch on Burnham: 'He does not have a diagnosis of what has gone wrong in the UK beyond privatisation and Margaret Thatcher' www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/... Badenoch's diagnosis of how to put things right? Privatisation and Margaret Thatcher 351
Reposted by Jules BirchAlf Dubs @alfdubs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I'm so very sad to hear of the death of Esther Ranzen who played an important role in reuniting me with Nicky Winton - the man who saved my life. It's so desperately sad that she couldn't choose assisted dying as was her wish. 291520219
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Playing full back in rugby as a kid I once headed the ball into touch. It seemed the smart way to avoid being killed by the opposition forwards swarming towards me. Also realised I was playing the wrong game www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-...bbc.co.ukURC: Callum Sheedy 'header' goes viral as Cardiff fly-half admits surpriseCardiff fly-half Callum Sheedy says he did not realise his "header" against Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship (URC) game would go viral. 000
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 30/09/2026If anyone doubted the need for a crackdown on leasehold management www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukCroydon leaseholders threatened with losing homesGeorge Ainsworth says he has been threatened with his flat being repossessed by the freeholder. 030
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Starting point for the sanctions clearly has to be a fine of £900m (uprated for inflation) just for these offences - and that’s before you get to the other charges 020
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026A pensions double lock from 2030... adjusted over time with earnings as well. Have to declare an interest but think that could make it much easier for a future govt to quietly drop, see what happened under Thatcher when it only rose by inflation 010
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Good Burnham vibes: 'With a good home everything is possible. Without one it feels like nothing is' 'I am specific about council housing because we need to restore stronger democratic control over our housing stock' 'We don't let people sell food which damages health so why allow it with homes?' 151
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Waiting for the moment when it's revealed that they're all subsidiaries of LexCorp www.ft.com/content/c768...ft.comAnthropic warns of ‘existential risks to humanity’ in IPO prospectusLong-awaited S1 filing reports Claude maker lost $8bn last year on $4.6bn in revenue 020
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Joe Hart seems a nice bloke but they’ve been found guilty 114 times (at least) and sued the Premier League to stop them getting what they claimed was incontrovertible evidence that they were innocent www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...bbc.co.ukMan City ruling: Joe Harts trusts club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak's claims they are innocent of breaking Premier League's financial rulesFormer Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart believes club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak's claims they are innocent of breaking the Premier League's financial rules. 074
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Still not sure what this means. Good to force housing associations to step up on housing homeless people but taking ‘public control’ too far runs the risk of their debt being reclassified as public under current rules www.theguardian.com/society/2026...theguardian.comAngela Rayner promises greater public control of housing in EnglandConference speech to announce housing associations cannot reject homeless families without good reason as councils gain new powers 472
Reposted by Jules BirchHelen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 28/09/2026The weird thing about the whole ‘dementia tax/death tax’ stuff is it implies we don’t already have one. Surely we basically do, we just don’t tell people about it in advance and it’s totally unpredictable and random. 5439
Reposted by Jules BirchMike Andrews @mikea57.bsky.social · 28/09/2026What I will never be able to forgive Labour for is having 14 years in Opposition in which to come up with an idea for reforming and funding social care yet here we are 16 years later and 2 years in power waiting for Louise Casey to come up with an idea they can put in a 2029 Manifesto. 032
Reposted by Jules BirchNoble Francis @noblefrancis.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Just note that for all the initial noise, public relations & share price rises, 'Your First Home' (i.e. Help to Buy revisited) won't have anywhere near the impact that the initial 'Help to Buy' did (1/n) #ukhousing #ukconstruction 234
Reposted by Jules BirchJames Murray @james-bg.bsky.social · 20/09/2026I know almost everything is terrible, but this year really could be world-historic in a good way. It’ll be several more years before it can be definitively called, but there are encouraging signs emissions really are peaking. www.businessgreen.com/news/4535893...businessgreen.comStudy: Global fossil-fuel emissions to fall 0.5 per cent this yearStrait of Hormuz crisis has led to lower oil and gas demand that should more than offset any increased emissions from higher coal power generation, Carbon Brief calculates 723265
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Why is the government and why are Labour ministers and MPs still on X (part 694) Elon Musk is a bigger threat to British democracy than crypto billionaires observer.co.uk/news/politic...observer.co.ukElon Musk is a bigger threat to British democracy than cr...The foreign-based tech mogul is using the X algorithm to influence British politics in more sinister ways than the £72m given to Reform last week 085
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Residents fight against giant housing association’s 40 per cent rent increase in High Court case that turns on whether their homes are social housing www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater...manchestereveningnews.co.uk'We have no choice but to fight. It's this or end up homeless.'High Court grants full hearing into whether Places for People homes in Shaw are social housing after an 18-month battle at Manchester Civil Justice Centre 141
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Expropriation of landlords and a rent cap are the top priorities for the poll-leading candidate for mayor of Berlin giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...giftarticle.ft.comRed lipstick and expropriation: anti-capitalist seeks power in BerlinElif Eralp could become first mayor of Turkish origin in the German capital 121
Reposted by Jules BirchRichard Hebditch @richard.hebditch.org · 15/09/2026New evaluation of Help to Buy published (handily before Budget with all the lobbying for a new version going on). Helped housing supply post-2008 crash but not much impact later. www.gov.uk/government/p...gov.ukEvaluation of the Help to Buy scheme: evaluation findings report 111
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 15/09/2026FT reports tormer housing secretary Steve Reed was lobbying for revival of Help to Buy in Autumn Budget backed by official evaluation that the original scheme offered 'very high value for money' giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...giftarticle.ft.comHelp to Buy scheme was ‘very high value for money’, says official reviewGovernment ministers under Sir Keir Starmer had been preparing to unveil a new version of the flagship programme 354
Reposted by Jules BirchChaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 14/09/2026NEW: A Tory council is lobbying the government to increase housing benefit, just as Kemi Badenoch pledges to cut it An Enfield Council cabinet report said the housing benefit cap should be three times higher than the level Badenoch wants to cut it to By me, for @politicshome.bsky.socialpoliticshome.comTory Council Asks For Housing Benefit Boost Despite Kemi Badenoch Calling For CutsA Conservative-run council is lobbying the government to increase housing benefit, just as party leader Kemi Badenoch pledges to cut it. 39338
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Surely even if Reform has to hand back the £72m Delo and Harborne can simply redonate it after supposedly living in Uk for a year? The whole discussion is meaningless without a cap on donations? 030
Reposted by Jules BirchAndrew Fisher @fisherandrew79.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Anyone who has or has had a close family member with Alzheimer's knows this pain: He revealed his father did not know he had become prime minister in July "The way I look at it, it's his achievement as well. A whole family achievement, although he doesn't know it" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukAndy Burnham cancels engagements after death of fatherBurnham has previously said his father did not know he had become prime minister due to his Alzheimer's. 1283
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 12/09/2026Either satire is dead or I am hopelessly unsuited to the modern world www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026... 111
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Apart from one who will get $5,000,000,000 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukTrump says every adult American would get $5,000 if Republicans win midtermsSpeaking at a party convention, the US president gave no details on how the plan would work or where the money would come from. 010
Reposted by Jules BirchKaren Buck @queensparkkaren.bsky.social · 10/09/2026We’ve seen this movie before. It ends with homelessness, Temporary Accommodation costs crippling local councils, renters in severe financial hardship. That this can be done without huge social damage is the politics of wishful thinking. 810735
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Emma Barnett is really annoying but she has really got under the skin of Kemi Badenoch 140
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 10/09/2026‘We will cap Local Housing Allowance,’ Kemi Badenoch on Today. But it’s already capped, not to mention frozen. Assume she means lower caps 74313
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Good piece on the web of litigation between developers, contractors, architects, engineers, sub-contractors - and the government - over responsibility for post-Grenfell building safety www.ft.com/content/4d08...ft.comGrenfell’s £1.2bn legal legacyAlmost 100 lawsuits active in London as developers, builders and architects sue over remediation costs 122
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 07/09/2026'In 2024-25, housing associations sold 5,250 homes – the highest annual figure on record, representing an increase of 89% in two years' There may be good reasons for some sales - eg homes that are too expensive to maintain - but that doesn't explain the big increase www.lgcplus.com/services/hou...lgcplus.comRecord numbers of social homes sold by housing associationsEnglish housing associations sold record numbers of social and affordable homes to private buyers who do not live in them in 2024-25, new analysis has 042
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Negotiating care homes is tough so worth celebrating little moments like this trespasser in the garden of my mum’s home 0150
Reposted by Jules BirchMartin Wheatley @martinhwheatley.bsky.social · 05/09/2026S.7 Public Order Act 2023, interfering with critical national infrastructure. People have been jailed under it for walking slowly in a road. Blockade Port of Dover 🤷 0104
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Where are the Tories going to find another £4bn in cuts to housing benefit? www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...telegraph.co.uk 130
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 02/09/2026End to Local Housing Allowance freeze on the way? This answer by Andy Burnham yesterday will certainly be hard to walk back from 172
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 01/09/2026There may be a cinema, rooftop pool, orangery, gym and sauna in this luxury build to rent block but guests can only stay for 14 nights in any 90-day period and good luck getting a food delivery www.ft.com/content/e9b9...ft.comIt was billed as effortless London luxury. Then tenants found out the rulesShard Place’s policies, including those on guests and delivery riders, have frustrated many renters 020
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Plans to build two homes 'an accident waiting to happen' www.edp24.co.uk/news/2650296...edp24.co.ukLocals slam plans to build homes in village as 'an accident waiting to happen'Locals have described plans to build a pair of homes near Dereham as "an accident waiting to happen". 000
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 30/08/2026This got me thinking about what he hasn’t backed away from. Ending rough sleeping? Not convinced the plan will work but there is an announced plan. Could also say stuff on bus travel, electricity bills and business rates delivers on pledges on cost of living and cost of business? Anything else? 162
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Human flies to drag huge turd along seafront in protest at council-owned company reneging on promise of Section 106 affordable homes in Penzance. Council says with a straight face that there's no problem because homes will be funded via SAHP instead www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwal...cornwalllive.comDon't believe the poo we will deliver affordable homes, says councilCabinet members have warned about 'misinformation' in run-up to unique protest 111
Reposted by Jules BirchRobert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 27/08/2026It would be impossible to guess any of this from most media coverage. 24624190
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 27/08/2026The education system on Vulcan appears to have a highly selective take on the history of council housing www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/84f10ed...telegraph.co.ukBritain cannot afford Burnham’s madcap council house planThe PM’s policy would push borrowing higher when markets already charge more than they did during Liz Truss’s tenure 260
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Two years on from the fire that destroyed the Spectrum Building... www.theguardian.com/society/2026...theguardian.comTwo years in limbo: the residents still paying mortgages on flats destroyed in east London fireSpectrum Building leaseholders awaiting payouts after freeholder, Arinium, went bankrupt shortly after 2024 blaze 010
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Finally… but why just mayors? Let all councils in all areas apply to suspend the right to buy giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Burnham looks at giving mayors in England power to block sale of council homesgiftarticle.ft.comBurnham looks at giving mayors in England power to block sale of council homesMove on ‘right to buy’ would add to restrictions announced under previous prime minister Keir Starmer 23110
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 25/08/2026What a life well lived! www.theguardian.com/music/2026/a...theguardian.comDolly Parton, country star, actor and philanthropist, dies aged 80Songwriter of I Will Always Love You, Jolene and 9 to 5 also invested millions in child literacy, Covid-19 vaccine development and other causes 010
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Switching the entire SAHP to social rent was always unrealistic given how far advanced work on this round of allocations was. And not possible without a) more money or b) accepting fewer new affordable homes overall www.theguardian.com/society/2026...theguardian.comBurnham backtracks on spending housing fund only on building social homesAbout 40% of £10bn from Affordable Homes Programme will now go on types of housing such as sheltered and shared ownership 165
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Not sure how a party with 8 MPs keeps getting so much publicity for its press releases three years away from an election but here we are www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukReform says it will prioritise British-born young workers for social housingLabour called the plan "unserious and unworkable" and accused Reform of pushing "gimmicks and division". 172
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Good piece on Auckland, new home construction and affordability setting out the two sides of the argument on rezoning giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...giftarticle.ft.comHow New Zealand’s biggest city solved its housing crisisRezoning has changed the face of Auckland though critics warn lessons hard to replicate 133
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 23/08/2026Feels like there’s an untested assumption here that mayors will only use their new powers in favour of development www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukMayors to get powers to overrule local councils on planning decisionsHousing minister Matthew Pennycook said the change was "essential" for helping mayors "effectively deliver new homes". 94310
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 23/08/2026Billionaire co-founder of Palantir funds think tank behind Republican drive to reverse Housing First and criminalise rough sleeping in US www.nytimes.com/2026/08/22/u...nytimes.comHow the Billionaire Joe Lonsdale Shaped Trump’s Homelessness Policy (Gift Article)As Republicans have embraced tough measures to clear the streets, no group has led the way more than the Cicero Institute, founded by the venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale. 153
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 22/08/2026Woke up to news that the number of teams competing at Chinese robot games will be 666. Think I might have to go back to bed 110
Reposted by Jules BirchNeil Goodrich @ngoodrichhsg.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Excellent explainer on Local Authority housing finances. One can draw a direct line between the items discussed in this article, and the fact that LAs are overrepresented in the social landlords with a C4 (worst) consumer grading from the regulator. redbrickblog.co.uk/2026/08/self...redbrickblog.co.ukIf Andy Burnham is serious about a council housebuilding revolution, what does he need to know about the self-financing settlement for the HRA? - Red BrickChloe Fletcher is the Chartered Institute for Housing's Head of Policy and External Affairs. She explains why council housing finance has become unsustainable - and argues that a new settlement must r... 064
Jules Birch @julesbirch.bsky.social · 20/08/2026I was already bored by Harry and Meghan by 645 this morning. Please make it stop 020