The cruel government trick that drives voters to Reform: calling new homes ‘affordable’ | John Harris

Labour pledged to build 1.5m more houses. It needs to achieve that – but it will be meaningless unless the people who really need them actually get to live in themI have got used to a scene that has been repeated in wildly different places all over the UK. Close to the centre of a town or city, there will be a construction project, centred on the delivery of brand new apartments. The air will be filled with the loud clanking of machinery; a hastily finished show flat might offer a glimpse of what is to come.I have developed an unexpected addiction to these places, always photographing the hoardings that hide building work from passersby, which usually feature ecstatic thirtysomethings drinking coffee and relaxing in upmarket domestic environments (they are usually accompanied by slogans like “live, work, relax, dream”). And I have come to expect a kind of encounter that goes straight to the heart of one of our biggest national problems. Up will walk a member of the public, looking sceptically at what is under way. Their words may vary but the basic message is always the same: “Who’s this for? Not me.”John Harris is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Comments

Opinions

The LA riots and the roots of the left's violence

washington times

The Jude Bellingham crisis is threatening to blow up the England camp - here's the drastic move Thomas Tuchel MUST now make, writes OLIVER HOLT

about 11 hours ago

RICHARD EDEN: Prince Harry and Meghan have dropped their biggest hint yet about a return to royal life

Dailymail

I'm proof you can REVERSE your age: For decades BRYONY GORDON lived on a diet of cocaine, booze and cigarettes - but after getting sober, this is how she successfully lowered her biological age

3 days ago

washington times

How Freddie Forsyth wrote The Day Of The Jackal in 35 days - and based his novels on his life as an MI6 spy. But after passing away eight months after the death of his wife of 30 years, did he die of a broken heart?

3 days ago

Dailymail

I've spotted a hideous hidden detail in THOSE wedding pictures of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. It's breathtakingly savage: KENNEDY

3 days ago

Hooray! America is finally heading toward race and gender fairness

Newyork Post

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution on Ch4: All fired up like an angry Aga, chef Jamie gave the minister a roasting

3 days ago

Diplomacy as theater: China's obsession with Beijing-Washington summits

washington times

Comments

Opinions

The LA riots and the roots of the left's violence

Letter to the editor:Protests don't have to be violent

Letter to the editor: Imagine a different Mexico

Letter to the editor: Better ways to spend stadium funds

I wonder if Brian Wilson ever truly knew how much his music meant to people

Scotland has built Schrödinger's Schools – succeeding and failing at the same time

Democrats Newsom and Bass have destroyed America’s Golden State

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: The BBC wants to win over Reform voters... and I've got a sneak preview of the new schedule

BRYONY GORDON: Truth about Liz Hurley's body at 60 - and why it's just not normal

QUENTIN LETTS: Mrs Badenoch was perkier than usual. Does she finally glimpse hope?

The economy might be sinking faster than the Titanic but at least we'll be beautiful

God-given rights in jeopardy

Letters to the Editor: If you can't take to the streets, financial assistance is a form of protest too

Letters to the Editor: If Trump is so against illegal immigration, why doesn't he bolster legal channels?

Plans are underway for The Devil Wears Prada sequel film - ALISON BOSHOFF reveals everything we know so far

jgjfgj

Local focus can change the big picture

The Jude Bellingham crisis is threatening to blow up the England camp - here's the drastic move Thomas Tuchel MUST now make, writes OLIVER HOLT

RICHARD EDEN: Prince Harry and Meghan have dropped their biggest hint yet about a return to royal life

Want to get kids away from screens? Put them inside one

Why spending £2m on a Gaelic primary is a dubious allocation of public funds

Why we need safe baby courts in Scotland

Is new Winter Fuel Payment £35,000 threshold for an individual or a household? STEVE WEBB replies

The Queen Mum and a very chilly view of the Mitford Girls: EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE

If Starmer doesn't fix two crucial issues he can start writing his political obituary

The Scottish Tory who has perfected the art of 'vice-signalling'

Does Labour have the guts to ditch the trans activism, climatism and Gaza-ology?

When a Glasgow teacher gives a young scholar dietary advice...

I'm proof you can REVERSE your age: For decades BRYONY GORDON lived on a diet of cocaine, booze and cigarettes - but after getting sober, this is how she successfully lowered her biological age

Elon Musk's superpower

California gets a taste of what it's like when leftists mobs roam the streets

Congressional appropriation reform to fund and sustain America's Golden Dome

Enhancing the president's edge with an Office of National and Economic Security

The 'big, beautiful bill' comes due for teachers unions

This is the way to save Social Security

U.S.-China competition hinges on energy

Simone Biles’ attack on Riley Gaines shows the hypocrisy of liberals’ supposed ‘be kind’ movement

LA liberals’ anti-ICE riots: Letters to the Editor — June 10, 2025

How Democrats defend the WORST migrants and blame Trump for riots ordered up by the left

Amid the horrific rise in Jew-hatred, the US Holocaust Museum must reexamine its role

Americans are starting to learn who ‘Maryland father’ Abrego Garcia really is

Looks like it’s up to Hochul to kill the monstrous ‘assisted suicide’ bill

Column: Trump deploys, protesters respond. This will not end well

How Freddie Forsyth wrote The Day Of The Jackal in 35 days - and based his novels on his life as an MI6 spy. But after passing away eight months after the death of his wife of 30 years, did he die of a broken heart?

I've spotted a hideous hidden detail in THOSE wedding pictures of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. It's breathtakingly savage: KENNEDY

Hooray! America is finally heading toward race and gender fairness

Story of Vietnamese orphans who resettled here 50 years ago proves there are greater things than politics

EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Cressida Bonas gives birth to 'miracle' baby and names her after tragic sister

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution on Ch4: All fired up like an angry Aga, chef Jamie gave the minister a roasting

Diplomacy as theater: China's obsession with Beijing-Washington summits

From Vietnamese street orphans to successful Americans: The untold rescue story

Newsom-Bass’ ‘give up’ governance, FEMA is built to fail and other commentary

QUENTIN LETTS: Criticising Red China is a moreish activity. You try some and before long hanker for another plateful

Wigan legend Billy Boston will become rugby league's first knight. And not before time, writes OLIVER HOLT

Tech stampede to the exit: British brilliance born of our great universities is being plundered daily, says ALEX BRUMMER

Tinkering with smartphone rules won’t save our kids – the damage they do means we must BAN them now

Meghan’s theme park snap proves she is a cosplay Diana… the contrast between the two couldn’t be more different

Letter to the editor: Soft-on-crime policies lead to anarchy

Letter to the editor: Being gay is not an indulgence

Letter to the editor: When free speech becomes pure incitement