Bob Barlow has worked in PR and corporate communications for major housebuilders, housing associations and industry bodies for over 20 years, following a successful career in newspaper journalism. He is senior partner of the Bob Barlow Consultancy
The swine ‘flu pandemic that didn’t happen and the MPs expenses scandal that really did happen have served to push the tribulations of the housing market off the front pages these last few weeks. However, for those of us whose job is to look beyond the headlines, there were a few more glimmers of interest and hope. More »
Writing this as Alistair Darling prepares for the budget, I am reminded of just how deep a hole we’re in. Not just the housebuilding industry – we all know how bad that is, thanks very much – but almost everyone else. We’re all in it up to our necks. More »
In the PR game, you have to be an optimist. You can’t get behind an idea or a product, or the organisations that peddle them, unless you believe in what they stand for and have a degree of enthusiasm for it. That’s what makes honest PR possible. What makes it both comfortable and enjoyable, though, is optimism – the belief that other people will understand what you are saying and buy into your belief in it. More »
First the government used our money to bail out the banks, which went on to do absolutely nothing to help potential homebuyers or, indeed, anyone else but their bonus-bloated managers. More »
I first saw Margaret Beckett in her new role as Housing Minister last November. Along with her boss, the minuscule Hazel Blears, she strolled into the press conference called to announce the conclusion of the Killian-Pretty Review of the planning process, and said a few appropriate words. More »
Not many people know this, at least outside our industry’s four walls, but Britain is effectively going to run out of new homes in 2009. And probably fairly early in 2009 at that.
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There were always a few cynics, me included, who believed that the government’s 2016 target for ‘carbon neutral’ new homes was a joke. This had nothing to do with me being in denial about climate change. It was all about facing up to political and industrial realities. More »
We’re heading for recession, the Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned recently – just a few days after Housing Minister Margaret Beckett declared at a dinner that she wanted the government to release more land for new homes. What an interesting and depressing juxtaposition those two statements present. More »
