Hi all, Even if it hasn’t felt like summer this week, it is June and the season for inspecting council accounts. An important victory in Newham showed us that exiting LOBO loans is possible and can free up millions for housing and services... The summer also brings many exciting events both for us and in the wider networks for debt justice and local democracy - see below! TAKE ACTION Inspect your council’s accounts! You can inspect your council’s accounts and object to spending you believe is not in the public interest.  The period to do so is now in England,... [continues]

Hi all, Spring is advancing fast and we at Research for Action have another newsletter full of news to tell you… TAKING ACTION Submission to Local Government Finance and the 2019 Spending Review inquiry The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee is inviting submissions to an inquiry on local government finance. It promises to “consider how effective the existing funding set-up for local government is in providing resources to meet need and demand for local services both now and in the future”. We made a submission (not public on the website yet) based on our reports Debt and Democracy on... [continues]

Dear friends of Research for Action, Here are our latest news! We have a busy April coming up full of events and great news to share about banks winding down LOBO loans. If you'd like to receive our newsletter in your inbox you can subscribe here. IN THE NEWS RBS restructures LOBO loans In March, the Guardian reported that the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is working to wind down its LOBO loan portfolio worth £1bn, by the end of the year. It is allowing councils to exit their loans early, sometimes even offering discounts. Most councils are paying back the loans... [continues]

Welcome to our March newsletter. Spring is advancing fast and packed with exciting events... We are also proud to announce Research for Action is two years old this month! If you would like to support our work with a birthday present, you can donate here. Thank you for everyone who has supported us this far. EVENTS Finance Capital & the Ghosts of Empire: Revisiting Colonial Debts, Extractive Nostalgias, Imperial Insolvencies 5-6 April 2019, University of Sussex This two-day event will bring together scholars, artists and activists working in different fields to explore the role of the Empire in configuration of... [continues]

Hi all, Here are the latest updates from Research for Action. This is also your final chance to opt in to receiving this newsletter. If you haven’t done so yet, we will be shortly sending you an opt-in form again. Please use it to give us your consent to email you in the future. If you don’t opt in, this is the last time you will hear from us! Fanny, Joel and Vica NEWHAM CITIZEN DEBT AUDIT Cuts and contempt - experiences of austerity and council democracy in Newham We recently published a report on Newham residents’ experiences with council... [continues]

Welcome to the first Research for Action newsletter! Research for Action was set up last year as a workers' co-operative by Fanny, Joel and Vica. It had been in the pipeline for a while as we wanted to set up an organisation that would enable us to develop independent research that was meaningful to us and useful for furthering social, economic and environmental justice, and do so in a sustainable way. After many brainstorming sessions, post-it notes, cups of coffee and multiple name choices, Research for Action was born. It has been an exciting year for us. We were awarded... [continues]