May newsletter: Local elections, summit for change & more
Posted inNewsletters

May newsletter: Local elections, summit for change & more

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]
Posted inCitizen Debt Audit Publications

LOBO LOANS: a citizen audit of local authority debt

Over 200 councils across the country have taken out Lender Option Borrower Option (LOBO) loans. As a result, millions are flowing into the financial sector from austerity-ravaged local authorities. This pocket-sized booklet tells you all you need to know about this scandal to take action in your community. It gives the context of local government finance, explains LOBO loans and the conflict of interest and lack of oversight that allowed the scandal to happen, and what you can do to take action against illegitimate LOBO debt. You can download it below, or if you want copies to distribute locally, get... [continues]
April Newsletter: councils exit RBS LOBO loans
Posted inNewsletters

April Newsletter: councils exit RBS LOBO loans

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]
March Newsletter: finance and empire
Posted inNewsletters

March Newsletter: finance and empire

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]
Seven councils sue Barclays over LOBO loans and LIBOR rigging
Posted inCitizen Debt Audit

Seven councils sue Barclays over LOBO loans and LIBOR rigging

Seven councils are suing Barclays over LOBO loans the bank sold them in years 2005 to 2008. The loans’ interest rates were pegged to LIBOR, a benchmark rate set by a group of London banks, including Barclays. In 2012 it emerged the banks had been manipulating the rate, and Barclays was fined £290m. The local authorities – Leeds, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Newcastle, North East Lincolnshire, Nottingham, Oldham and Sheffield – allege that due to Barclays’ role in the rate rigging, the banks knew customers would rely on LIBOR rates when deciding whether to enter into contracts. The councils are... [continues]
Posted inSolidarity

Solidarity with the Stansted 15

In March 2017, a group of 15 activists halted a flight that was due to deport people from the UK to Nigeria and Ghana. The activists, known as the Stansted 15, have been found guilty of endangering an aerodrome, a terrorism offence that has only been used once since it was introduced in 1990 and carries a maximum of lifetime imprisonment. They will be sentenced on 6 February. Of the 60 people who were due to be deported on the flight, 11 are still in the country pursuing their asylum claims. Two have been granted indefinite leave to remain, and... [continues]
Councils missing out on £16bn in interest savings by refinancing LOBO loans via Government
Posted inCitizen Debt Audit

Councils missing out on £16bn in interest savings by refinancing LOBO loans via Government

Earlier this month, Kent County Council and bankrupt Northamptonshire County Council announced they were refinancing LOBO loans taken out from state-owned RBS. Kent County Council refinanced LOBO loans worth £60m at around 4.2% interest, mostly with a loan from the government’s Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) at 2.21% interest. Northamptonshire County Council did the same for a £20 million LOBO loan. LOBOs are expensive long-term loans we consider illegitimate for reasons outlined in chapter 5 in our recent report on the citizen debt audit in the London borough of Newham. Following the announcement of loan refinancing savings, we conducted an... [continues]
Posted inCitizen Debt Audit Publications

Debt and Democracy In Newham – A Citizen Audit of LOBO Debt

The east London borough of Newham has the most bank debt in the form of LOBO loans of any local authority in the UK. Even in austerity conditions, the council is forced to make extortionate interest payments to the same banks responsible for the 2008 crisis. Through data analysis and investigation as well as interviews with residents, charity workers and campaigners, Research for Action has put together a picture of this hidden debt crisis. Our report ‘Debt & Democracy in Newham: A citizen audit of LOBO loans’ presents details of Newham Council's LOBO loan debt and assesses its legitimacy in... [continues]
Posted inCitizen Debt Audit Events

Launch event: A citizen’s audit of Newham’s bank debt

Join us for the launch of Research for Action’s report on the audit of Newham’s bank debt on 30 October. After a decade of cuts, public services are at a breaking point. Social security has been eroded, rents are skyrocketing in the absence of investment in social housing and despite low wages and reduced benefits, we are being asked to pay more for services that were once free. As funding from central government is stripped, local authorities are struggling to meet our basic needs. But cuts do not tell the whole story. Like too many struggling households, councils are being... [continues]
#Newsletter: June
Posted inNewsletters

#Newsletter: June

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]