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The social housing sector’s highlights from the past month on Twitter, featuring Handforth Council, LGBT+ History Month and shopping trolleys
Handforth Parish Council’s Zoom meeting went viral earlier this month, making clerk Jackie Weaver (above) a national hero after she kicked the rude chair into the waiting room, inspiring thousands of tweets, a sea shanty and even a musical interpretation.
“I was once interviewed for a job by 11 councillors and a dog. Two of the councillors smoked all the way through the interview and I could barely see the back of the room for clouds of smoke”
It kicked off discussions on what this might mean for the sector, with Rebekah Ryder at the National Housing Federation (@RebekahRyder) pointing out: “Councillors work very hard, but (like most people) can be a bit bonkers. A councillor’s opener to me once: ‘You’ll be fine in life, I can read auras.’”
Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) president Aileen Evans (@Bushbell) responded: “I was once interviewed for a job by 11 councillors and a dog. Two of the councillors smoked all the way through the interview and I could barely see the back of the room for clouds of smoke. The dog barked on occasion too.”
Gordon Perry (@gordonphousing), who sits on the board of the CIH and Trafford Housing Trust, cautioned that he had “experienced just as bad (but different) from commercial and housing association boards I have worked with, so let’s not tar #parishcouncil with the issue. #ukhousing look to ourselves”.
Jennie Bibbings (@jenniebibs), a campaigner at Shelter Cymru, posted a thread making the case for investment in preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). She set out the evidence for what has been achieved so far – including some now defunded projects. “ASB can be prevented and tenancies saved. Neighbourhood relationships can be mended,” she tweeted, before noting that the Welsh government should ideally be spending some of its funding on making this happen.
Building safety minister Stephen Greenhalgh (@team_greenhalgh) took to Twitter to post a Daily Mail story on Hammersmith & Fulham Council investigating the origin of a ship on its logo, after suggestions it could be a slave trade ship. “Residents would like more attention on the project plan and funding proposal to reopen #HammersmithBridge which are still outstanding,” he tweeted. His replies, though, were full of people asking him to stay on task himself. “We’d quite like the Building Safety Minister to focus on building safety, Stephen. Millions are living in fire traps under your watch, with no effective solution,” replied @CladVictimJen.
It is always good to see housing chief executives get involved in frontline issues – Inside Housing was pleased therefore to note Bryony Willett, chief executive of Maryhill Housing (@BryonywillettMH), congratulating her team on removing stray shopping trollies from one of their developments. “One had fallen into the canal, but they didn’t give up. The team repurposed a rubbish chute unblocking rod to fish it out!”
Picture credit: Women’s Pioneer
February is LGBT+ History Month (or #LGBTHM21 on Twitter), and Women’s Pioneer (@WomensPioneer) has been tweeting contributions that LGBTQ+ people have made to its own history, including militant suffragette Helen Archdale (above) and her partner Lady Margaret Rhondda who were involved in the organisation’s early days.
“The hashtag most used by Conservative MPs in the last 24 hours was: #EndOurCladdingScandal”
The cladding scandal continued to be one of the most serious and common discussions on housing Twitter – you just have to look at the replies to any post on any subject by any of the housing ministerial team to see the extent of feeling on this topic.
And with extensive coverage continuing in the national press – as well as in Inside Housing of course – there has been plenty to talk about.
A quote attributed to someone at @MHCLG – “There is no hostility towards the campaign, but there is concern if they give them an inch, they will want a mile” – prompted UK Cladding Action Group (@ukcag) to point out it
was good to know the ministry “isn’t hostile to millions of people facing huge financial & mental pressures due to them living in death traps”.
@UKMPtweets, an account that tracks all sorts of information about how MPs tweet, noted on 8 February: “The hashtag most used by Conservative MPs in the last 24 hours was: #EndOurCladdingScandal.”
@aktcharity – this charity focusing on LGBTQ+ homeless people in London has been using its Twitter account this month to highlight LGBTQ+ history
@yemmsie – Yemí Àlàdérun, major projects manager at Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association and a board member at Women’s Pioneer, was recently named one of Architect Journal’s 40 Under 40
@DodsworthKate – the chief executive of Gateway Housing is moving to the Regulator of Social Housing (@RSHEngland) to become director of consumer regulation, so is one to follow for tweets about housing and diversity as well as regulation
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