By Barry Knight
23 Feb 2021
On ‘Blue Monday’ in mid-January 2020, TCPA policy director Hugh Ellis was considering the future of planning and experienced a meltdown while on a train journey. He realised that... Read More
By Rosaleen Tite Ahern
20 Aug 2020
This piece was a Senior Winner of the Orwell Youth Prize 2020. If you could knock the world down and begin again what would you build? Bright lights, creature... Read More
By Rethinking Poverty
06 Nov 2019
This month’s Talking Points looks at a variety of ideas for improving people’s lives – from good architecture to kindness and a newly woven social fabric. We also look... Read More
By Sally Thomas
29 Jul 2019
Reflections from the 2019 annual conference of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) Our annual conference looked at the future of housing, focusing on our tenants, homes, communities... Read More
By Barry Knight
24 Jun 2019
What follows is the text of a speech given by Barry Knight at a conference of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) on 12 June 2019. The speech... Read More
06 Jun 2019
This week saw the publication of a new independent report, Land for the Many: Changing the way our fundamental asset is used. Written by George Monbiot and six others... Read More
By Steven Burkeman
12 Mar 2019
In 1901, Joseph Rowntree began creating what was to become the village of New Earswick, 2½ miles north of York. Today, New Earswick is a thriving mixed community of... Read More
14 Nov 2018
In Barry Knight’s book Rethinking Poverty, the second principle of a good society is: ‘so we are secure and free to choose how to live our lives’. The idea of... Read More
By Rethinking Poverty, Compass, TCPA, University of Hull, UCL
26 Sep 2018
What would a good society look like and how can we achieve it? As described in yesterday’s blog, a small group of people got together in Letchworth Garden City... Read More
By Rethinking Poverty, Compass, TCPA, University of Hull, UCL
25 Sep 2018
A small group of people got together in Letchworth Garden City on 26 and 27 July. With UK politics in a worse state than perhaps ever before, the aim... Read More
By Reverend Paul Nicolson
23 Mar 2018
The main point of Barry Knight’s book is that ‘our efforts to end poverty over the past 75 years have failed’. I disagree. There have been some significant successes.... Read More
By Paul Nicolson
21 Sep 2017
In Rethinking Poverty Barry Knight and the Webb Memorial Trust turned to participatory research to provide opportunities for ‘…individuals on low incomes to develop and express their own ideas’. They rightly... Read More
22 Feb 2017
2017 marks the 75th anniversary of the Beveridge Report, which was heavily influenced by Beatrice and Sidney Webb’s research on social reform. The report offered a post-war strategy for... Read More
By Richard Rawes
17 Feb 2017
In our final exclusive comment piece as part of the 75th anniversary of the Beveridge Report, Richard Rawes, chairman of the Webb Memorial Trust, says we can resolve the... Read More
By Kate Henderson
16 Feb 2017
Government must support all kinds of house builders to build the homes we need, says Kate Henderson, the chief executive of the Town and Country Planning Association, in the... Read More
By Seb Klier
15 Feb 2017
Government must do more to protect the millions of people renting in the private sector, argues Seb Klier, from Generation Rent, in the latest of our exclusive articles compiled... Read More
By Paul Hunter
09 Feb 2017
A suburban renaissance will be key to solving our housing crisis, says Paul Hunter from the Smith Institute, in the latest of our exclusive articles compiled as part of... Read More
By Martin Wheatley
08 Feb 2017
The building of new council homes should be a key part of solving our housing crisis, argues Martin Wheatley, from the campaign for social housing (SHOUT), in the latest... Read More
By Jennifer Line
07 Feb 2017
In the latest of our exclusive articles compiled as part of the 75th anniversary of the Beveridge Report, Jennifer Line explores what community-led housing has to offer in response... Read More
By Ruth Davidson
07 Feb 2017
In the latest of our exclusive articles, compiled as part of the 75th anniversary of the Beveridge Report, Ruth Davidson from the National Housing Federation explains creating communities, and... Read More
By Rys Farthing
03 Feb 2017
The experiences of children in poverty should guide our approach to tackling poverty, argues Rys Farthing in the latest of our exclusive articles compiled as part of the 75th... Read More
By Alice Martin
02 Feb 2017
In the latest of our exclusive articles compiled as part of the 75th anniversary of the Beveridge Report, Alice Martin argues the government needs to get smarter about selling... Read More
By Terrie Alafat
01 Feb 2017
Terrie Alafat CBE, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, says the sector must do more to prepare for the challenges which lie ahead in the latest of... Read More
By Sarah Daly
31 Jan 2017
‘More must be done to tackle fuel poverty’ 31/01/2017 Sarah Daly, director of strategic sustainability and partnerships, Sustainable Homes, says more must be done to end fuel poverty in... Read More
By Duncan Bowie
30 Jan 2017
Duncan Bowie, senior lecturer in spatial planning at the University of Westminster, argues for a fundamental change in housing policy in the latest in a series of exclusive articles... Read More
By Toby Lloyd
27 Jan 2017
Toby Lloyd from Shelter explores the need for government intervention to reduce the welfare bill and tackle poverty in today’s exclusive article, compiled as part of the 75th anniversary... Read More
By Peter Kenway
26 Jan 2017
In today’s exclusive article, compiled as part of the 75th anniversary of the Beveridge Report, Peter Kenway from the New Policy Institute examines the relationship between the growth of... Read More
25 Jan 2017
Social Housing and the Good Society: Policy Futures Report This is a the final report for the Webb Memorial Trust by the University of Birmingham’s Housing and Communities Research Group exploring change in... Read More
By Brian Robson
25 Jan 2017
In the first of a number of exclusive articles which shine a light on the link between poverty and housing, Brian Robson, from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, argues housing... Read More
By Caroline Hartnell
21 Oct 2016
Most commentators now agree that the shortage of housing in the UK is reaching crisis proportions, with rental costs rising sharply and those on low incomes particularly seriously affected.... Read More
04 Oct 2016
Wednesday 19th October 2016, 14.15-16.00, Macmillan Room, Portcullis House, Westminster. Tea & coffee available from 14.00. Co-hosted by APPG on Poverty and APPG on Housing & Planning What is the future... Read More
By Richard Rawes
18 Feb 2016
Richard Rawes, Chair of the Webb Memorial Trust, reflects on recent events at the Town and Country Planning Association, Institute of Economic Development and New Economics Foundation. The Trust... Read More
27 Oct 2015
#Planning4People: a Manifesto The planning system was invented to help provide a good home, for everyone, in a healthy, thriving place. But in the last few decades something has... Read More
