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A bit of a hostile review, but all the same, a fascinating range of issues exploding out of a quite bizarrely ideological appointment - and for that matter Commission. Is going about housing like a mad mullah really going to help ? https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/nov/25/would-you-trust-roger-scruton-to-design-your-new-home-commission-building-better-building-beautiful Some further digging: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building_Better,_Building_Beautiful_Commission https://www.dezeen.com/2018/11/14/opinion-building-better-building-beautiful-commission-sam-jacob/

Over the past decade, we've experienced some extraordinary economic and monetary events... yet, on the surface, at least, everything appears to continue much as before. It feels as if the tangible effects from the political and economic situation only expose themselves in subtle ways - and, if one were disinterested, one might even fail to notice changes. This left me thinking about the 'big picture' - wondering if civil society is (gradually) shifting towards some new paradigm... a 'new way of thinking' that will result in new ways of conducting one's life - with new kinds of opportunities and challenges. Having identified this powerful, if ill-explained and inadequately researched idea... I turned my attention to the task of identifying any new paradigms... with the ultimate goal of forecasting their effects. A snag is that massive, global, monetary "stimulus" is unprecedented... which has prompted me to want to find out about other examples of significant economic paradigm shifts. One of my first thoughts was "The USSR" - because (during the 20th century, especially) Russian civil society must have been very different to my contemporary experiences in Britain. I was recommended to read "The Russian Economy From Lenin to Putin" by Steven Rosefielde. It is interesting, but not quite what I'd hoped it would be - from the title... the economics it addresses is more 'textbook theorem' than 'colourful history.' Can anyone recommend apt material on Russia? Are there other examples of civil societies which, either underwent massive changes - or, perhaps, are (or were) significantly different to the perspective one gets from the secular West? Am I alone in being inquisitive about such things?

So now we have that little vote out of the way, will everyone calm down and discuss with me the potential leaders to take this country forward. Johnson looks favourite to take over from Cameron but with a possible snap election and change in Labour leader as well, who do we think would be best placed to lead the UK out of Europe and into a brighter future.

Why Has Generation Rent walked out of the Homes for Britain campaign ? You look down the list of members of the Homes for Britain campaign a little puzzled and then you go aaah... In other words, Generation Rent argues, it's all very well creating a movement in which landlords and tenants and developers and land owners (and Labour and Tory and UKIP and Greens) can all come together and say that they want to end the housing crisis. But doing so doesn't change the fundamental fact that the housing market is a zero sum game. If we have enough homes, prices will fall. For renters to win, landlords must lose. Pretending they have a shared interest here is a recipe for inaction.....

I found this interesting poll and debate: Taxing wealth: the return of the politics of envy?What do you think about "Mansion Tax" or other ideas to tax wealth?