Alex Firth
@alexwfirth.bsky.social
Advocacy & Comms at Just Fair / economic, social and cultural rights are human rights / build more homes.
Work on the UK, based in Mexico City.
www.justfair.org.uk
Work on the UK, based in Mexico City.
www.justfair.org.uk
Pinned
Housing asylum seekers at Crowborough repeats mistakes of past
As asylum seekers move into Crowborough military base, Human Rights Watch and Just Fair warn Labour are dusting off a failed playbook.
www.bigissue.com
🏚️ Military barracks retraumatise people who fled war and imprisonment.
In @bigissue.com, I write with @hrw.org about why the UK’s new military base accommodation for people seeking asylum revives an idea that inspectors, courts and rights groups have long condemned.
www.bigissue.com/opinion/crow...
In @bigissue.com, I write with @hrw.org about why the UK’s new military base accommodation for people seeking asylum revives an idea that inspectors, courts and rights groups have long condemned.
www.bigissue.com/opinion/crow...
Reposted by Alex Firth
Under Starmer, recognised refugees can no longer reunite with their children.
Recognised refugees.
Denied the right to reunite with their children.
It’s diabolical. Worse than anything the Tories did. & no, the racists are not & never will be satisfied.
So yes, he’s hated.
Recognised refugees.
Denied the right to reunite with their children.
It’s diabolical. Worse than anything the Tories did. & no, the racists are not & never will be satisfied.
So yes, he’s hated.
What these “but why do people hate Starmer SO MUCH” takes come down to is so shallow.
Starmer doesn’t sound or look like a firebrand so what’s the big deal?
Immune to questions of SUBSTANCE - he’s liar, enabled a genocide, pandered to anti-migrant politics & global Fascism.
Starmer doesn’t sound or look like a firebrand so what’s the big deal?
Immune to questions of SUBSTANCE - he’s liar, enabled a genocide, pandered to anti-migrant politics & global Fascism.
February 11, 2026 at 8:22 AM
Under Starmer, recognised refugees can no longer reunite with their children.
Recognised refugees.
Denied the right to reunite with their children.
It’s diabolical. Worse than anything the Tories did. & no, the racists are not & never will be satisfied.
So yes, he’s hated.
Recognised refugees.
Denied the right to reunite with their children.
It’s diabolical. Worse than anything the Tories did. & no, the racists are not & never will be satisfied.
So yes, he’s hated.
I visited the Tenement Museum in New York recently, showcasing the housing conditions that immigrants arriving into the US lived in.
It’s impossible not to see it as a living archive of why housing is a human right 🧵
It’s impossible not to see it as a living archive of why housing is a human right 🧵
February 8, 2026 at 6:24 PM
I visited the Tenement Museum in New York recently, showcasing the housing conditions that immigrants arriving into the US lived in.
It’s impossible not to see it as a living archive of why housing is a human right 🧵
It’s impossible not to see it as a living archive of why housing is a human right 🧵
Reposted by Alex Firth
1/4 UN Experts and Special Rapporteurs have sent formal allegation letters to both the UK and French governments over serious potential human rights violations under the ‘one-in, one-out’ deal. You may read the full story here: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
February 6, 2026 at 4:28 PM
1/4 UN Experts and Special Rapporteurs have sent formal allegation letters to both the UK and French governments over serious potential human rights violations under the ‘one-in, one-out’ deal. You may read the full story here: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Scotland moving toward rent controls shows spiralling rents are a political problem, not a law of nature. When pay goes to landlords instead of living costs, the system is broken.
Tenants across the UK need real limits on rent hikes.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Tenants across the UK need real limits on rent hikes.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Rent controls are coming to the UK - but they're not a guaranteed win for tenants
Rent controls are coming to the UK - but they're not a guaranteed win for tenants
www.bbc.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 2:44 AM
Scotland moving toward rent controls shows spiralling rents are a political problem, not a law of nature. When pay goes to landlords instead of living costs, the system is broken.
Tenants across the UK need real limits on rent hikes.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Tenants across the UK need real limits on rent hikes.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
This street in Cartagena, Colombia captures gentrification in one frame.
A renovated home now operating as an Airbnb sits next to long-standing housing shaped by informality, precarity, and survival.
Gentrification isn’t just aesthetic, it’s a shift in access, affordability, and security.
A renovated home now operating as an Airbnb sits next to long-standing housing shaped by informality, precarity, and survival.
Gentrification isn’t just aesthetic, it’s a shift in access, affordability, and security.
February 1, 2026 at 4:54 PM
This street in Cartagena, Colombia captures gentrification in one frame.
A renovated home now operating as an Airbnb sits next to long-standing housing shaped by informality, precarity, and survival.
Gentrification isn’t just aesthetic, it’s a shift in access, affordability, and security.
A renovated home now operating as an Airbnb sits next to long-standing housing shaped by informality, precarity, and survival.
Gentrification isn’t just aesthetic, it’s a shift in access, affordability, and security.
Reposted by Alex Firth
Appeasing landlords.
Decent homes standard for England’s private renters will not be enforced until 2035.
Millions of renters are stuck paying hand over fist for shoddy homes that pose a real danger to their health.
Govts put profits before people.
Decent homes standard for England’s private renters will not be enforced until 2035.
Millions of renters are stuck paying hand over fist for shoddy homes that pose a real danger to their health.
Govts put profits before people.
‘Absurd’: decent homes standard for England’s private renters will not be enforced until 2035
Campaigners say government is letting landlords ‘drag their feet’ and ‘denying renters the most basic standards’
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:32 AM
Appeasing landlords.
Decent homes standard for England’s private renters will not be enforced until 2035.
Millions of renters are stuck paying hand over fist for shoddy homes that pose a real danger to their health.
Govts put profits before people.
Decent homes standard for England’s private renters will not be enforced until 2035.
Millions of renters are stuck paying hand over fist for shoddy homes that pose a real danger to their health.
Govts put profits before people.
Reposted by Alex Firth
Doesn't feel particularly radical to suggest that the taxpayer should not subsidise organisations whose entire purpose seems to be to hound an incredibly marginalised group out of public life.
No organisation existing solely to eliminate trans people should be a charity. #DeregisterSexMatters
January 29, 2026 at 11:43 PM
Doesn't feel particularly radical to suggest that the taxpayer should not subsidise organisations whose entire purpose seems to be to hound an incredibly marginalised group out of public life.
Reposted by Alex Firth
No mention here of the upcoming cut to Universal Credit, which will cost 700,000+ disabled people an average of £3,000 a year.
From April, the health element of UC will be cut by nearly 50% for new claimants. Set out by @victoria-anns.bsky.social here: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...
From April, the health element of UC will be cut by nearly 50% for new claimants. Set out by @victoria-anns.bsky.social here: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...
January 29, 2026 at 5:09 PM
No mention here of the upcoming cut to Universal Credit, which will cost 700,000+ disabled people an average of £3,000 a year.
From April, the health element of UC will be cut by nearly 50% for new claimants. Set out by @victoria-anns.bsky.social here: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...
From April, the health element of UC will be cut by nearly 50% for new claimants. Set out by @victoria-anns.bsky.social here: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...
Letting landlords stall on basic standards for years is indefensible.
It condemns millions of renters, including children, to unsafe, poor-quality homes while those responsible face little consequence.
www.theguardian.com/money/2026/j...
It condemns millions of renters, including children, to unsafe, poor-quality homes while those responsible face little consequence.
www.theguardian.com/money/2026/j...
Fury as enforcement of decent homes standard for private renters in England put back to 2035
Campaigners say government ‘denying renters the most basic standards in our homes’
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Letting landlords stall on basic standards for years is indefensible.
It condemns millions of renters, including children, to unsafe, poor-quality homes while those responsible face little consequence.
www.theguardian.com/money/2026/j...
It condemns millions of renters, including children, to unsafe, poor-quality homes while those responsible face little consequence.
www.theguardian.com/money/2026/j...
Reposted by Alex Firth
🎒 The UK Government is not supportive of a new proposed UN treaty that would support pre-primary education for kids globally.
The UK needs to change its position and support these fundamental rights for all kids.
The UK needs to change its position and support these fundamental rights for all kids.
Dr Eirini Gkouskou: What pre-schoolers had to say about the right of all children to have an early education - Nursery World
What would pre-school children across the world do to improve access to early years education? Erini Gkouskou found out.
www.nurseryworld.co.uk
January 28, 2026 at 9:00 AM
🎒 The UK Government is not supportive of a new proposed UN treaty that would support pre-primary education for kids globally.
The UK needs to change its position and support these fundamental rights for all kids.
The UK needs to change its position and support these fundamental rights for all kids.
Reposted by Alex Firth
I understand Labour faces a largely hostile media environment, but its inability to make a big splash with genuinely positive news remains unfathomable. Like the Warm Homes Plan last week, this will make a big difference to the finances and lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Good news but slightly odd manner and timing of announcement? - in a video on tik tok, not made overnight to maximise press coverage, no supportive quotes
www.gov.uk/government/n...
www.gov.uk/government/n...
PM: “We're capping ground rents at £250”
PM caps ground rents at £250 a year in game-changing shake up of leasehold system and to support families with the cost of living.
www.gov.uk
January 27, 2026 at 9:51 AM
I understand Labour faces a largely hostile media environment, but its inability to make a big splash with genuinely positive news remains unfathomable. Like the Warm Homes Plan last week, this will make a big difference to the finances and lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Temporary accommodation is harmful to all children, but if you are neurodivergent, it can be overwhelming, unsafe and have lasting effects.
Noise, overcrowding, constant moves, no routine, no quiet space. Children deserve better.
Noise, overcrowding, constant moves, no routine, no quiet space. Children deserve better.
January 27, 2026 at 1:05 AM
Temporary accommodation is harmful to all children, but if you are neurodivergent, it can be overwhelming, unsafe and have lasting effects.
Noise, overcrowding, constant moves, no routine, no quiet space. Children deserve better.
Noise, overcrowding, constant moves, no routine, no quiet space. Children deserve better.
Looking forward to reading this.
Daniel is one of the best and most relentless reporters on the UK’s housing crisis.
Daniel is one of the best and most relentless reporters on the UK’s housing crisis.
Britain’s housing crisis is getting worse and symptomatic of a deeper problem of how governments have failed to protect public services and people who rely on them.
My book Left to Rot is a 4 year investigation into what has gone wrong.
Out June 2nd, pre-order now www.amazon.co.uk/Left-Rot-Gov...
My book Left to Rot is a 4 year investigation into what has gone wrong.
Out June 2nd, pre-order now www.amazon.co.uk/Left-Rot-Gov...
January 25, 2026 at 10:35 PM
Looking forward to reading this.
Daniel is one of the best and most relentless reporters on the UK’s housing crisis.
Daniel is one of the best and most relentless reporters on the UK’s housing crisis.
Reposted by Alex Firth
Quick reminder that the men who were sent to live in disused army camps at Crowborough amid local protests this week could have been given safe homes in ordinary communities - at over 5x less cost to the taxpayer.
This cruelty is costing us all.
This cruelty is costing us all.
January 25, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Quick reminder that the men who were sent to live in disused army camps at Crowborough amid local protests this week could have been given safe homes in ordinary communities - at over 5x less cost to the taxpayer.
This cruelty is costing us all.
This cruelty is costing us all.
Thousands protested in Crowborough today over plans for an asylum camp at a former military base.
Anger is being directed at people seeking safety, not at a system that keeps choosing harmful, evidence-free solutions.
Barracks don’t fix a broken asylum system. They make it worse.
Anger is being directed at people seeking safety, not at a system that keeps choosing harmful, evidence-free solutions.
Barracks don’t fix a broken asylum system. They make it worse.
Thousands march in Crowborough over asylum plan for former military camp
Thousands march in Crowborough over asylum plan for former military camp
Protesters walk to Sussex market town from base where Home Office plans to house up to 500 asylum seekers
Thousands of people have marched through an East Sussex market town to protest against UK government plans to house asylum seekers on a former military site.
Crowds of men, women and children walked to Crowborough from the base, where the Home Office plans to house up to 500 male asylum seekers as part of plans to end the use of hotels for the same purpose. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 25, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Thousands protested in Crowborough today over plans for an asylum camp at a former military base.
Anger is being directed at people seeking safety, not at a system that keeps choosing harmful, evidence-free solutions.
Barracks don’t fix a broken asylum system. They make it worse.
Anger is being directed at people seeking safety, not at a system that keeps choosing harmful, evidence-free solutions.
Barracks don’t fix a broken asylum system. They make it worse.
Reposted by Alex Firth
Housing asylum seekers at Crowborough military camp is repeating dangerous mistakes
While in opposition, Labour denounced the Tories for cramming people seeking asylum into military camps. Now they’re dusting off the very same failed playbook, argues Just Fair and Human Rights Watch
While in opposition, Labour denounced the Tories for cramming people seeking asylum into military camps. Now they’re dusting off the very same failed playbook, argues Just Fair and Human Rights Watch
Housing asylum seekers at Crowborough repeats mistakes of past
As asylum seekers move into Crowborough military base, Human Rights Watch and Just Fair warn Labour are dusting off a failed playbook.
www.bigissue.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Housing asylum seekers at Crowborough military camp is repeating dangerous mistakes
While in opposition, Labour denounced the Tories for cramming people seeking asylum into military camps. Now they’re dusting off the very same failed playbook, argues Just Fair and Human Rights Watch
While in opposition, Labour denounced the Tories for cramming people seeking asylum into military camps. Now they’re dusting off the very same failed playbook, argues Just Fair and Human Rights Watch
Reposted by Alex Firth
Worth remembering when looking at the horrific scenes in the US right now that both Reform and the Tories have pledged to bring in ICE-style organisations to the UK if they win power
January 24, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Worth remembering when looking at the horrific scenes in the US right now that both Reform and the Tories have pledged to bring in ICE-style organisations to the UK if they win power
The Barbican is often framed as architectural ambition, but it’s also a reminder of a moment when the state built housing at scale, in the city, with permanence in mind.
The tragedy is that this level of public ambition is now unthinkable.
The tragedy is that this level of public ambition is now unthinkable.
January 24, 2026 at 4:24 PM
The Barbican is often framed as architectural ambition, but it’s also a reminder of a moment when the state built housing at scale, in the city, with permanence in mind.
The tragedy is that this level of public ambition is now unthinkable.
The tragedy is that this level of public ambition is now unthinkable.
🥀 When in opposition, Labour called housing people seeking asylum in military barracks “a failure.”
Now it’s happening again.
Now it’s happening again.
As asylum seekers move into Crowborough military base, Human Rights Watch and Just Fair warn Labour are dusting off a failed playbook.
Housing asylum seekers at Crowborough repeats mistakes of past
www.bigissue.com
January 24, 2026 at 4:20 PM
🥀 When in opposition, Labour called housing people seeking asylum in military barracks “a failure.”
Now it’s happening again.
Now it’s happening again.
🌍 Warm homes for a cool planet 🌍
The Warm Homes Plan matters. Cold, damp, energy-inefficient housing affects health, education, and family budgets.
This is about more than bills or carbon. Warm homes are part of the right to housing and to an adequate standard of living.
The Warm Homes Plan matters. Cold, damp, energy-inefficient housing affects health, education, and family budgets.
This is about more than bills or carbon. Warm homes are part of the right to housing and to an adequate standard of living.
"After a decade of piecemeal policy, we finally have a common-sense package that will slash bills, cut emissions and create good local jobs," said NEF's @chaitanyakumar.bsky.social in @labourlist.bsky.social
labourlist.org/2026/01/warm...
labourlist.org/2026/01/warm...
'The Warm Homes Plan reminds us of the difference Labour can make' - LabourList
The Warm Homes Plan is further proof of how determined this government is to bring down the cost of living and deliver for working people.
labourlist.org
January 23, 2026 at 4:16 PM
🌍 Warm homes for a cool planet 🌍
The Warm Homes Plan matters. Cold, damp, energy-inefficient housing affects health, education, and family budgets.
This is about more than bills or carbon. Warm homes are part of the right to housing and to an adequate standard of living.
The Warm Homes Plan matters. Cold, damp, energy-inefficient housing affects health, education, and family budgets.
This is about more than bills or carbon. Warm homes are part of the right to housing and to an adequate standard of living.
Reposted by Alex Firth
Housing people seeking asylum in military barracks isn’t a solution, it’s a repeat of a failed policy.
Our new piece with @hrw.org lays out why this new plan undermines the rights to housing & health.
Rights-respecting solutions exist, ministers should choose them.
www.bigissue.com/opinion/crow...
Our new piece with @hrw.org lays out why this new plan undermines the rights to housing & health.
Rights-respecting solutions exist, ministers should choose them.
www.bigissue.com/opinion/crow...
Housing asylum seekers at Crowborough repeats mistakes of past
As asylum seekers move into Crowborough military base, Human Rights Watch and Just Fair warn Labour are dusting off a failed playbook.
www.bigissue.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Housing people seeking asylum in military barracks isn’t a solution, it’s a repeat of a failed policy.
Our new piece with @hrw.org lays out why this new plan undermines the rights to housing & health.
Rights-respecting solutions exist, ministers should choose them.
www.bigissue.com/opinion/crow...
Our new piece with @hrw.org lays out why this new plan undermines the rights to housing & health.
Rights-respecting solutions exist, ministers should choose them.
www.bigissue.com/opinion/crow...
🏚️ Military barracks retraumatise people who fled war and imprisonment.
In @bigissue.com, I write with @hrw.org about why the UK’s new military base accommodation for people seeking asylum revives an idea that inspectors, courts and rights groups have long condemned.
www.bigissue.com/opinion/crow...
In @bigissue.com, I write with @hrw.org about why the UK’s new military base accommodation for people seeking asylum revives an idea that inspectors, courts and rights groups have long condemned.
www.bigissue.com/opinion/crow...
Housing asylum seekers at Crowborough repeats mistakes of past
As asylum seekers move into Crowborough military base, Human Rights Watch and Just Fair warn Labour are dusting off a failed playbook.
www.bigissue.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:49 PM
🏚️ Military barracks retraumatise people who fled war and imprisonment.
In @bigissue.com, I write with @hrw.org about why the UK’s new military base accommodation for people seeking asylum revives an idea that inspectors, courts and rights groups have long condemned.
www.bigissue.com/opinion/crow...
In @bigissue.com, I write with @hrw.org about why the UK’s new military base accommodation for people seeking asylum revives an idea that inspectors, courts and rights groups have long condemned.
www.bigissue.com/opinion/crow...
Reposted by Alex Firth
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained a 5-year-old boy in Minnesota this week, taking him and his father to a Texas detention center.
No one, especially a child, should be arbitrarily detained. Actions like this further terrorize families of color across the country.
No one, especially a child, should be arbitrarily detained. Actions like this further terrorize families of color across the country.
January 22, 2026 at 9:33 PM
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained a 5-year-old boy in Minnesota this week, taking him and his father to a Texas detention center.
No one, especially a child, should be arbitrarily detained. Actions like this further terrorize families of color across the country.
No one, especially a child, should be arbitrarily detained. Actions like this further terrorize families of color across the country.
172,000 children in England are growing up in temporary accommodation – overcrowded, unsafe and unstable.
The Child Poverty Strategy is welcome, but without a rights-based approach to housing, these children remain at the mercy of politics, not protected by law.
labourlist.org/2026/01/chil...
The Child Poverty Strategy is welcome, but without a rights-based approach to housing, these children remain at the mercy of politics, not protected by law.
labourlist.org/2026/01/chil...
'To last, the child poverty strategy must be grounded in human rights' - LabourList
The UK’s Child Poverty Strategy is a major step forward, but without a rights-based framework its gains risk reversal.
labourlist.org
January 16, 2026 at 3:39 AM
172,000 children in England are growing up in temporary accommodation – overcrowded, unsafe and unstable.
The Child Poverty Strategy is welcome, but without a rights-based approach to housing, these children remain at the mercy of politics, not protected by law.
labourlist.org/2026/01/chil...
The Child Poverty Strategy is welcome, but without a rights-based approach to housing, these children remain at the mercy of politics, not protected by law.
labourlist.org/2026/01/chil...
Children’s rights should never depend on market conditions.
Scrapping the two-child limit matters, but without a rights-based framework, child poverty policy remains fragile.
My new op-ed in @labourlist.bsky.social makes the case
🔗 labourlist.org/2026/01/chil...
Scrapping the two-child limit matters, but without a rights-based framework, child poverty policy remains fragile.
My new op-ed in @labourlist.bsky.social makes the case
🔗 labourlist.org/2026/01/chil...
'To last, the child poverty strategy must be grounded in human rights' - LabourList
The UK’s Child Poverty Strategy is a major step forward, but without a rights-based framework its gains risk reversal.
labourlist.org
January 13, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Children’s rights should never depend on market conditions.
Scrapping the two-child limit matters, but without a rights-based framework, child poverty policy remains fragile.
My new op-ed in @labourlist.bsky.social makes the case
🔗 labourlist.org/2026/01/chil...
Scrapping the two-child limit matters, but without a rights-based framework, child poverty policy remains fragile.
My new op-ed in @labourlist.bsky.social makes the case
🔗 labourlist.org/2026/01/chil...