English councils should be able to increase council tax premiums on second homes by 100%, 500% or more
That is what I recommended in Home Comforts, a report for
@thefabians.bsky.social last year
It was taken up in Scotland, and it should be adopted by England
www.telegraph.co.uk/money/bills/...
While global shocks push prices up, they aren’t the only reason for the cost of living crisis. We rely on poorly regulated markets for essentials, driving a poverty premium. From loyalty premiums to higher monthly charges, millions overpay. Ben Cooper on why Gov must step in @labourlist.bsky.social.
Great to see action on “subscription traps” today, which cost the average consumer around £170 a year
Labour has a long history of taking on businesses that exploit vulnerable consumers for profit
They should go further, as my @labourlist.bsky.social column argues
labourlist.org/2026/04/ben-...
To learn how the next Scottish government can build more homes and tackle the housing emergency.
You can read 'Housing the Future' 👇
fabians.org.uk/publication/...
“The next Scottish government should commit to a genuinely ambitious housing target that delivers the enough homes to meet need”
@kathsangster.bsky.social & @bencooper1995.bsky.social explain how we can ensure homes are built across Scotland in @scotsman.com
www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...
Great to see coverage of @bencooper1995.bsky.social's "Housing the Future" in @scottishhousingnews.com 👇
www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/sco...
🏘️ A target of 350,000 homes over 10 yrs
🏠 Reform of planning to create simple decisions in places where development exists
🏡 A five-year Affordable Housing Supply Programme, worth £6.65bn
🧱 A statutory right to build for community schemes in rural areas
t.co/WQjyah3r4k
Scotland is experiencing the worst housebuilding slump since the Second World War.
The next Scottish government needs to get Scotland building again.
My report for @scottishfabians.bsky.social and @thefabians.bsky.social Housing Centre sets out how.
👇
📺 Hear the full discussion about our new report 'Housing the Future' with @bencooper1995.bsky.social and Palma Oxley from our new explainer series 'The Briefing' 👇
youtu.be/KvvJtCICODo?...
🎙️Hear from Head of the Fabian Housing Centre, and author of Housing the Future @bencooper1995.bsky.social about his new report 👇
Increasing rural, remote and island housing supply through a statutory ‘right to build’ for small community schemes, a single permanent ‘Building Rural and Island Housing Fund’ worth £20m per year, and support for self-builders.
Reshaping affordable and social housing funding by introducing a five-year, inflation-linked settlement for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (£6.5bn in real terms over five years), with a further five-year indicative settlement, and creating a £500m Social Housing Quality Fund over ten years.
Recommendations include reforming the planning system to restore a presumption in favour of sustainable development and create simple decision making in places where development already exists; and allowing councils to set planning fees to recover costs.
The report sets out a blueprint for housing in Scotland, including a fresh target of 350,000 homes by 2036
Nine of the top 10 worst years for housebuilding since the second world war have occurred since 2007
This is equivalent to the size of Edinburgh or twice the size of Aberdeen
Modelling shows this leaves a total shortfall of a quarter of a million homes against the SNP's 2007 pledge
Rather than increasing, annual housebuilding is down 26 per cent since 2007-08, with just 19,177 homes completed in 2024–25 – from a peak of 25,788 in 2007–08
📢 New Report - Housing the Future: How Scotland can build homes again, by @bencooper1995.bsky.social for @scottishfabians.bsky.social and Fabian Housing Centre.
Unambitious policy choices have created Scotland’s worst housebuilding slump since the Second World War
🧵
📢 New Report - Adopt, Innovate, Transform by Senior Researcher @sasjkia.bsky.social, supported by @fdaunion.bsky.social
🧵
Labour's spring statement showed progress but Gorton & Denton proved people still feel the pinch and popular policies haven't cut through.
I argue policy & narrative must work together, relentless delivery backing up a story proudly told at every turn 👇
leftfootforward.org/2026/03/fabi...
Labour is at risk of being ejected out of power by a populist wave from Reform and the Greens.
So how should the party respond?
I argue in my @labourlist.bsky.social column that Labour embrace its own authentic tradition of populism.
labourlist.org/2026/03/ben-...
"By tackling [housing costs] through comprehensive action, the government can make our country affordable again for everyone."
Read my article for @bigissue.com on why the government should prioritise making housing - and the private rented sector - affordable.
www.bigissue.com/opinion/priv...
The government can make our country affordable again for everyone. Ben Cooper, research manager at Fabian Housing Centre, writes.
Seems like a no-brainer way of addressing the housing crisis without damaging biodiversity, given that #golf courses take up twice as much land as all the current housing stock & are biodiversity deserts (that use huge amounts of water, put grass-treatment pollutants into watercourses...)
KUTGW
Voters want more homes and more accessible green spaces.
Building on golf courses is a way to deliver both.
The government should make this argument - and they can win it.
Read my column for @labourlist.bsky.social
labourlist.org/2026/02/stop...
“The government can and should take full advantage of the work being done across this ecosystem”
@emmaburnell.bsky.social of @labourlist.bsky.social reflects on Fabian New Year Conference, and why the progressive policy space matters for Labour.
labourlist.org/2026/01/labo...
Making it easier to build houses, rail, streets is crucial part of social democracy, according to Olaf Scholz.
@thefabians.bsky.social
Introduced the Renewing Our Communities session @thefabians.bsky.social New Year Conference.
Spoke about the Housing Centre's work on affordability and building great places to live.
And it was great to hear from @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social + @sarahsackman.bsky.social
