Jon LandJon Land is Editor of 24housing, the leading monthly magazine for social housing professionals.
A respected and irreverent commentator, Jon has been writing on housing issues since 2005 when he helped to set up the 24dash.com public sector news website.
On the back of the website’s success, 24housing magazine launched in 2008 and has gone from strength to strength with its mix of news, features and opinion.
Originally the magazine’s News Editor, Jon took over as Editor in August last year. He had previously spent ten years working in the regional press where he endured a life of abject poverty.
February 1st, 2013 by Jon Land
Who knew my Editor's Welcome column would prove so controversial? The February edition of 24housing is out today and I finally decided it was time to take a bit of a tongue-in-cheek swipe at Lord Freud. While I've had a fair amount of positive reaction, there are those within the sector who think the...
October 12th, 2011 by Jon Land
Housing Minister Grant Shapps has been quick to respond to the blog I posted earlier today (see link) regarding Labour's lurch to the left with the appointment of Hilary Benn and Jack Dromey to head up the shadow communities team.Always pleasant and charming, Grant (perhaps understandably) took exception...
October 12th, 2011 by Jon Land
If the Conservative Party required any evidence to back up its claim that Labour has taken a 'lurch to the left' under Ed Miliband then it need look no further than the new double act heading up the shadow communities and local government team. Intentional or not, the appointment of Hilary Benn as S...
September 8th, 2011 by Jon Land
"Tackling homelessness and rough sleeping is what first got me into politics."The words of Grant Shapps. There is little doubt that the plight of the homeless is a cause close to the Housing Minister's heart so it must be truly worrying for him that homelessness figures continue to spiral upwards - as a d...
August 24th, 2011 by Jon Land
What was that all about?Last month 24housing magazine was singing the praises of social housing providers for the wonderful outreach work they do in bringing together communities and making the world a better place for their tenants, then the next minute those very same communities are the focus of p...
June 29th, 2011 by Jon Land
David Cameron never seems to stop name dropping Grant Shapps.He was at it again during Prime Minister's Questions today when he talked about the Housing Minster's plan to prarachute 'special agents' into army barracks to help service men and women onto the property ladder.Putting that particular policy to ...
June 16th, 2011 by Jon Land
Take a bow Saint Iain your work is done.For the last few years the former Tory leader has been quietly transforming himself from the irritable, arrogant, pro-hunting, anti-Europe, CV-tampering stereotypical right-winger we all knew and hated into the caring face of Conservative politics.Once inspired by N...
April 13th, 2011 by Jon Land
Speculation is mounting that Housing Minister Grant Shapps is in line for a promotion in the forthcoming Cabinet reshuffle. Shapps, widely regarded as one of the Conservative Party’s rising stars, has consistently been linked to more glamorous roles, and if David Cameron decides to refresh his top tea...
March 9th, 2011 by Jon Land
The Junior Housing Minister, alias gaffe-prone, pseudo-Liberal Democrat MP Andrew Stunell, has been accused of letting the cat out of the bag over the Coalition Government's plans for the future of life-time tenancies. In a House of Commons debate on the Localism Bill, Stunell was forced by Labour’s ...
October 19th, 2010 by Jon Land
On the eve of the Comprehensive Spending Review, there’s a sense of disbelief across the social housing sector. Can this really be happening? Like a boxer clinging onto the ropes, we are desperately hoping for the final bell. The problem is we haven’t even had confirmation of the budget cuts yet – th...