Mike Rees

Playing Real Madrid and Man City in a short space of time isn’t ever going to be easy . They aren’t robots

‘you’re not the Tories any more ‘ comes to mind if we are talking terraces

There is an old local government saying ‘ magnificent in a crisis largely of his/her own making ‘ that applies here.

It is deeply unhealthy to have local governments who don't provide many visible/valuable services for most residents (because they lack the resources). Encourages distrust and populism - 'what am I paying my council tax for? The council does nothing for me.'

This is a really important point from @robfordmancs.bsky.social. Local government should be a source of and focus for local pride. It should be doing bold, visible stuff that enhances and reflects community. Instead, currently, it is almost literally reduced to ambulance work.

Many will have noticed that the people of the south wales valleys rarely refer to the tragedy outside of anniversaries. Even then it is muted. The reason being one of respect for the dead. Please can we all observe this example.

Building ‘Homes for Tomorrow’: Lambeth’s Council Housing, 1965 to 1980 The exhibition uses original architect’s models, archival documents and images and oral history to explain the planning context and to explore and celebrate Hollamby’s architectural legacy for Lambeth...

1/ I was pleased to attend the launch in Lambeth Archives of this interesting exhibition on "Building ‘Homes for Tomorrow’: Lambeth’s Council Housing of 1965 to 1980". It will be described fully in a guest post by its curator Christiane Felber on Tuesday.
www.ianvisits.co.uk/calendar/bui...

I never heard an official who had worked with her have a bad word to say about about her . That is unusual in itself

August 2025 photo showing entrance to estate and flags on lampposts.

Weoley Castle is a centre of the current flag-waving craze. My new Substack post explores the estate's longer history and radical past politics:
municipaldreams.substack.com/p/the-weoley...

Birmingham’s Interwar Council House Building: an ‘achievement without parallel’ Between the wars, Conservative-controlled Birmingham built over 51,000 new council homes – more than any other local authority in the country outside London.

Between the wars, Conservative-controlled Birmingham built over 51,000 new council homes – more than any other local authority in the country outside London. My new post on Substack tells the story:
municipaldreams.substack.com/p/birmingham...

Bickendorf garden suburb

Rosenhof tenements and square

Modernist building at Blauerhof

View of modernist blocks and church at Weisse Stadt

My new blogpost is on social housing in interwar Germany and the shift from the Garden City to 'New Building' - 'Social Housing in Cologne, 1913-1933: Light, Air and Trees … and Modernism'
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/08/05/s...

Early black and white view of Balfron

Goldfinger photographed in front of Balfron

New on Substack, my post on the origins and design of Balfron Tower in Poplar designed by Ernő Goldfinger for the London County Council, completed in 1968. Now sadly privatised; more on that in next week's follow-up.
municipaldreams.substack.com/p/balfron-to...

A History of Council Housing in Rochdale: Part III, from 1967 to the Present We left Rochdale in last week’s post contemplating the failure of its Ashfield Valley Estate, completed in 1968 and all but demolished by 1992. For the moment, let’s return to the heady days and hi…

1/ My concluding post on the history of council housing in Rochdale looks at the Lower Falinge Estate, stigmatised as 'England’s benefits capital', and the sadly notorious Freehold Estate. What went wrong and where are we now?
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/a...

The use of imported pejorative terms such as ‘boomer ‘ is new an a distraction for me . A person born in 1946 is old enough to be the parent of someone born in 1964 but both ostensibly are baby boomers. Doesn’t work at that level

Was in a garden centre near Chester a few months back, car park top of the range cars and cafe top of the social ladder elderly . Topic of conversation ? Winter fuel allowance and impact of holiday plans - can we afford 3 cruises now ? We’ve lost the plot somewhere

I think the British voters are willing to have a difficult conversation on tax and spending but only on the basis of fairness and transparency. Also someone has to tell the new wealthy elderly that they have to put their hands in their pockets

A History of Council Housing in Rochdale: Part II, from 1945 to 1966 Although Rochdale had built on a large scale in the interwar period, as we saw in last week’s post, and although it had suffered little direct damage during the war itself, peacetime brought renewe…

🚨 New blog post: 'A History of Council Housing in Rochdale: Part II, from 1945 to 1966' looks at the town's new 'neighbourhood unit' created in the 1950s and two innovative but troubled projects of the 1960s:
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/07/15/a...

I remember my parents ( born in the 30s) describing this as ‘old fashioned rubbish ‘ back in the 70s.

A History of Council Housing in Rochdale: Part I, from the Industrial Revolution to the Second World War Rochdale Town Hall, completed in 1871 and recently restored to its founding glory, is a municipal dream in itself – a superb testimony to the vision and pride of our Victorian civic forebears. This…

'A wanton and inexcusable waste of life'. My new blog post examines the impact of slum housing in Rochdale and the council housebuilding programme that brought about reform:
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/07/08/a...

A History of Council Housing in Rochdale: Part I, from the Industrial Revolution to the Second World War Rochdale Town Hall, completed in 1871 and recently restored to its founding glory, is a municipal dream in itself – a superb testimony to the vision and pride of our Victorian civic forebears. This…

🚨 New blog post: A History of Council Housing in Rochdale: Part I, from the Industrial Revolution to the Second World War ...
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/07/08/a...

The role of DPP in the U.K. is not considered obscure . Quite the opposite

Our analysis shows that public service provision is redistributive in general, providing substantial in-kind support for lower-income households. For example, households in the lowest income quintile receive an average of £15,900 per year in in-kind benefits each year – 53 per cent more than the £10,400 received by the highest-income household quintile (Figure 4). As a share of income, the lowest-income households receive in-kind benefits worth 61 per cent of their income on an equivalised basis, while in-kind benefits are worth just 4 per cent of incomes for the highest income decile

Public services are highly re-distributive to lower-income households.

Households in the lowest income quintile receive an average of £15,900 per year in in-kind benefits.

Read more ➡️ buff.ly/58qMKUI

That would explain the lack of response. The example you quote is consistent with what I heard that day. I said if I had written any of the things her had said in an essay at University my professor would have written ‘bring crayons next time’ at the end which he was want to do

I went on a tour of Pembroke castle once led by a local historian. I think the local village idiot would have done better and I told him so. He got cross and said he knew far more than real historians. I wrote to CaDw but didn’t get a reply.

Half way through Peter Grainger’s 2014 book ‘ But for the Grace ‘ about a murder in a retirement community and a ‘famous five ‘ group of clever retirees.

Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel Is Placing His Biggest Bets They’re not MAGA. They’re not QAnon. Curtis Yarvin and the rising right are crafting a different strain of conservative politics.

Here's the article. It's from May 2022.

This Is What Happens When the DOGE Guys Take Over Inside the federal agencies where Elon Musk’s people have seized control, fear and uncertainty reign.

Chaos reigns:
“At present, every hacker in the world knows there are a small number of people new to federal service who hold the keys to access all US government payments, contracts, civil servant personal info, and more”
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

It’s a cult . It’s what cults do.

His missus looks like a policewoman strippergram

One of the many benefits of moving to this platform is being shown far more content from @davidallengreen.bsky.social, whose peerless insight reminds me why I first joined social media.