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

How Craigmillar’s rise will help transform Edinburgh’s success

The Herald

Miranda Devine: Foreign flags fly in LA anti-ICE riots — vindicating Donald Trump and leaving Dems with no moral standing

about 11 hours ago

Dailymail

Trump's bravado has totally backfired. China has the President right where it wants him - for one devastating reason: DOMINIC LAWSON

about 13 hours ago

ANDREW PIERCE: Celebrate Mrs T! Just what would grumpy Ted say?

Dailymail

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews The Gold on BBC1: Gold, greed, booze... this caper has the hallmarks of a classic crime flick

about 14 hours ago

The Sun

Why Meghan MUST drop the ‘Duchess’ title, – I know the REAL reason she’s blurring kids faces

about 14 hours ago

Newyork Post

Everything old is old again — like Putin playing with Stalin’s handbook

about 15 hours ago

Dailymail

I've tried thousands of skincare products - but there's only ONE 'magic potion' I'd spend my money on for real results (and the experts agree): POLISHED by Elise Wilson

about 16 hours ago

Migrants, lawyers, smuggling gangs and the French cash in – while Brits are left to foot the bill

The Sun

There are simple tricks to FORCE your boss to give you a raise... but you have to be willing to make a big sacrifice, KEVIN O'LEARY reveals

about 23 hours ago

Musk and Trump’s bitter feud: Letters to the Editor — June 9, 2025

Newyork Post

I could forgive my 51-year-old husband for having a secret OnlyFans. But when I saw who he was subscribed to, I had a panic attack: SAUCY SECRETS

2 days ago

Newyork Post

Lawmakers’ victim apathy and more: Letters to the Editor — June 8, 2025

2 days ago

Newyork Post

Why there’s no shame in corporate America boycotting LGBT Pride Month

2 days ago

Dailymail

Why Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou split was right, even if it feels awfully wrong to most and borderline obscene - his sacking is the modern-day epitome of the industry's callousness, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI

2 days ago

Damp and mouldy housing means too many people are left in the cold

The Herald

MAUREEN CALLAHAN: An insider has revealed the Royal verdict on THAT Meghan twerking video. It's so devastatingly cutting, she may never recover

2 days ago

Comments

Opinions

How Craigmillar’s rise will help transform Edinburgh’s success

It’s ‘a small part of LA’ is latest media refrain to minimize violent mobs

Scotland's best-loved charities may be just one financial knock away from collapse

Now even the British cuppa is not safe from scams

The show must go on - but let's make it fair

Family businesses: act now to avoid inheriting a new challenge

The NHS is still providing wonderful treatment. Increase taxes and fund it properly

How to win (or lose) a break up on social media

The CalMac ferries are just fine. The port is another story

A Scottish legend says cancel culture is over. Yeah right

Kate Forbes addresses same two big topics - one year on

Titillating tome may prove as controversial as Lady Chatterley's Mollusc

Why am I being unfairly penalised over 25% pension tax-free cash after lifetime allowance abolition? STEVE WEBB replies

Soaking the rich — as Mamdani and other lefties want —won’t pay for a supersized NYC gov’t

Miranda Devine: Foreign flags fly in LA anti-ICE riots — vindicating Donald Trump and leaving Dems with no moral standing

Trump's bravado has totally backfired. China has the President right where it wants him - for one devastating reason: DOMINIC LAWSON

ANDREW PIERCE: Celebrate Mrs T! Just what would grumpy Ted say?

Riley Gaines’ clever replies make us doubt it’s really Simon Biles writing those trans-extremist posts

How far would Dems have let the LA riots go if Trump HADN’T sent in the National Guard?

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews The Gold on BBC1: Gold, greed, booze... this caper has the hallmarks of a classic crime flick

Why Meghan MUST drop the ‘Duchess’ title, – I know the REAL reason she’s blurring kids faces

Everything old is old again — like Putin playing with Stalin’s handbook

I've tried thousands of skincare products - but there's only ONE 'magic potion' I'd spend my money on for real results (and the experts agree): POLISHED by Elise Wilson

Migrants, lawyers, smuggling gangs and the French cash in – while Brits are left to foot the bill

Dear Christians: Please stop calling people gay

Progressive states that care not for laws or the border are the ones tearing us apart

RUTH SUNDERLAND: No wealth means no welfare

Labour can’t preach about hard choices while spending billions on migrant hotels… tax hikes will see Reform surge higher

DEAR JANE: My dad paid for my sister's boob job. I fear the two-word slur friends now say behind her back is true

We’re only just beginning to suffer the consequences of Biden’s disastrous open-border policies

There are simple tricks to FORCE your boss to give you a raise... but you have to be willing to make a big sacrifice, KEVIN O'LEARY reveals

Musk and Trump’s bitter feud: Letters to the Editor — June 9, 2025

We need guardrails for artificial superintelligence NOW — before it’s too late

If Trump has taught us one thing, it is that Scotland needs more mega-wealthy people

Corporation did its best for Glasgow and does not deserve this flak

Democrats incite insurrection over lawful ICE raids

America's unhealthy obsession with New Age spiritualism

Don’t underestimate Donald Trump — he and his goals will survive without Elon Musk

ALEXANDRA SHULMAN'S NOTEBOOK: An unexpected audience with my late, great father

FLOURISHING AFTER 50: My parents made terrible money decisions and now I'm the one paying the price

MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: A serious outbreak of old-fashioned class war hits the NHS

TONY HETHERINGTON: John Lewis binned my carpet - but refuses to give me a refund

From creating the NHS to investing in people, Labour are innovators – next week we’ll do it again… with £86b for hi-tech

JEFF PRESTRIDGE: NatWest leaves tourist hotspot without a single bank branch

Love Island is about many things – but love certainly isn’t one of them

Forget paying France to stop migrants – spend it destroying UK black market that lures them here

Trump’s toxic feud with Musk is the greatest show on Earth – & I have a hunch about President’s ‘terrifying’ next move

Why both the Left and the Right are failing American workers

Why the Democratic NYC mayoral candidates have housing all wrong

NYC needs a mayoral race centered on the city’s needs, NOT Democrats’ anti-Trump obsessions

Trump can leverage Ukraine’s ‘badass’ strike to finally make Putin blink

Rogue Labor MP reveals why Albo is 'seriously an idiot' after a stunning move that benefits absolutely nobody: PVO

I could forgive my 51-year-old husband for having a secret OnlyFans. But when I saw who he was subscribed to, I had a panic attack: SAUCY SECRETS

Lawmakers’ victim apathy and more: Letters to the Editor — June 8, 2025

Why there’s no shame in corporate America boycotting LGBT Pride Month

Why Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou split was right, even if it feels awfully wrong to most and borderline obscene - his sacking is the modern-day epitome of the industry's callousness, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI

Damp and mouldy housing means too many people are left in the cold

'My grandmother grew up brushing her teeth with radioactive toothpaste'

Edinburgh is held back by its can’t do attitude. It should be more like Glasgow

MAUREEN CALLAHAN: An insider has revealed the Royal verdict on THAT Meghan twerking video. It's so devastatingly cutting, she may never recover