Emma Snaith

United Kingdom

London-based journalist with a strong interest in housing and politics.
Bylines in The Independent, The Times, The Guardian, Inside Housing and more.

Portfolio
Thetimes
04/04/2019
Dozens of Trump aides given security clearance despite warnings

A long-serving White House official has claimed that at least 25 members of President Trump's administration were granted security clearances despite "serious disqualifying issues".Tricia Newbold, a security adviser of 18 years, said applications had been denied over concerns about foreign influence

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
01/08/2019
Intensive farmers get £70M in government subsidies in two years

In many cases, subsidies are indirect, with a farmer receiving financial support for one aspect of their business - crop growing, for example - rather than the factory farm itself. The shadow environment secretary, Sue Hayman MP, said the subsidy payments "were encouraging more, and larger, intensive livestock farms".

the Guardian
07/30/2018
'Culture of impunity' among MPs over hospitality from corrupt regimes

More than £330,000 was spent on flights and accommodation for MPs to visit Azerbaijan between 2007 and 2017, and 12 MPs were paid over £90,000 to appear on Russian state TV, according to a new report. The report, by Transparency International UK, focused on parliamentarians who had accepted hospitality from corrupt and repressive regimes while providing political access and lobbying.

Camden Citizen
07/19/2018
Evacuated Chalcots residents to get a say in Camden's fire safety inquiry

Camden Council has agreed to include the views of Chalcots Estate residents in the second phase of its inquiry into last year's evacuation. Three thousand residents were forced to move out last June after cladding at the block was found to be similar to that used on Grenfell Tower, where 72 people tragically lost their lives two weeks earlier.

Hackney Citizen
07/20/2018
Council struggles to identify Universal Credit claimants ahead of roll-out - Hackney Citizen

Preparations for the roll-out of Universal Credit across Hackney in October are underway - but the council has said it is struggling to identify exactly who will be making the switch to the new system. The controversial welfare system was first introduced in the borough earlier this year, but only for single people who would previously have claimed job seekers' allowance.

Inside Housing
Ledbury Estate bill revealed to be close to £7m

Southwark turned the gas off at the estate in August, after an expert report in July revealed it was at risk of partial collapse in the event of an explosion. The blocks were built using the controversial ' large panel system ' method of construction - which involved effectively stacking large blocks on top of one another and was widely discredited following the Ronan Point disaster in 1968.

Hackney Citizen
01/22/2018
Vittoria Wharf: Campaigners launch final bid to halt imminent demolition

Campaigners are making a last-ditch attempt to prevent Vittoria Wharf from being bulldozed to make way for two new bridges connecting Hackney Wick and Fish Island. The demolition is set to start this month, according to an announcement made in December by Balfour Beatty, the development partner of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC).

Redpepper
Social housing not social cleansing: the theatre group touring London estates to resist evictions

An all-female theatre group has been touring their play across London housing estates facing demolition. Rather than stick to the confines of a traditional theatre space, You should see they other guy have held performances of L and of the three towers at estates in Newham, Brixton and South Kensington to draw attention to housing struggles at these sites and encourage audiences to fight for "social housing not social cleansing."

South East London Journal
09/12/2016
Sisters Uncut

For over a month this summer, activists from feminist direct action group Sisters Uncut occupied a vacant shop on Peckham's Rye Lane to highlight the lack of social housing for survivors of domestic violence in Southwark. The site was a hive of activity, drawing in the local community with wor

Huck Magazine
08/30/2016
The housing activists trying to beat property developers at their own game

In the last couple of years there have been a series of iconic protests in response to London's calamitous housing crisis. From the Sweet's Way Resists campaign to Focus E15, activists have fought against the woeful record of private property developers and local authorities to provide more affordable homes and defend social housing.

The 405
Review: Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle

In the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, it is agonisingly clear that housing has become the barometer of social inequality in the UK. Dispossession (2017) is a timely and deeply unsettling exploration of the neglect and chronic shortage of social housing in the UK.

Novara Wire
Take Back the City: The Disillusioned Londoners Calling for Radical Democracy.

Take Back the City is a new grassroots movement made up of ordinary Londoners dissatisfied with mainstream politics in London, seeking to make their voices heard. The group significantly raised their profile in the recent London Assembly elections when their candidate ran for the City and East constituency.

Redpepper
05/30/2016
Housing is a mental health issue

Photos: Focus E15 . On May 21, the Focus E15 housing campaign held a rally outside Stratford Underground Station calling for an end to social cleansing and demanding more social housing in the London borough of Newham. The demonstration was held at the end of Mental Health Awareness week to focus attention on the mental health implications of inadequate housing.