Matty Edwards

Research For Action • February 2026

REPORT: Flogged off – Public asset sales at councils getting exceptional financial support – Research for Action

Our new report found that more than £1bn of public assets have been sold by councils receiving exceptional financial support (EFS) in the last five years, with targets to flog off another £1bn in 2025/26.

BBC News • February 2026

Two jailed for assisting Max Dixon and Mason Rist killers

Two men have been jailed for four years for helping the murderers of best friends Max Dixon and Mason Rist.

BBC News • January 2026

Estranged son beat elderly mother to death, court told

An 87-year-old woman appeared scared of her son when he turned up at her door unannounced a week before her death, a jury has been told.

The Guardian • December 2025

Equal pay settlements for female council workers pass £1bn

GMB union says 30,000 claims settled with six local councils for average of £30,000 and expects 10,000 more in 2026.

The Lead • December 2025

We are deep in a housing crisis – why are so many properties still empty?

New data reveals councils are barely taking over empty homes anymore, amid calls for a new national programme to bring unused properties back into use.

The Dispatch • December 2025

‘Woeful consultation’ and ‘broken promises’ over council asset sales

Councillors have challenged a recent decision to flog off council assets, including multiple green spaces.

The Lead • November 2025

The Lead Untangles: Is there a simple solution to the homelessness crisis?

Ahead of the Budget, the housing sector is united in calling for Local Housing Allowance rates to be unfrozen – will Reeves listen?

The Dispatch • November 2025

Revealed: The 1,000 assets flogged off by Birmingham’s bankrupt council

The city’s green spaces could be the next to go..

BBC News • November 2025

Asthmatic mum 'made ill' by damp told to return home

A single mum has been told to return to her home despite a letter from a medical professional saying that damp and mould is making her ill.

The Lead • October 2025

London is getting homeless families out of hotels – but the crisis is far from over

Councils in the capital have managed to vastly reduce the number of families in hotels and B&Bs, but is this really a win in the battle against homelessness?

The Guardian • October 2025

Manchester Pride goes bust leaving performers out of pocket

Charity behind one of Europe’s biggest LGBTQ+ Pride events says staff will be made redundant as it is liquidated.

The Dispatch • October 2025

The numbers that reveal Birmingham didn’t have to go bankrupt

New analysis by accounting experts has found that the council’s financial health was much better than reported when it raised the alarm back in 2023.

BBC News • October 2025

'Culture of non-transparency' over FOIs at Bristol City Council

Campaigners have criticised a "culture of non-transparency" at a city council, amid a lack of improvement in answering information requests on time.

BBC News • September 2025

Bristol carers 'need support' with poverty, isolation, and health

Carers facing financial hardship and isolation in Bristol are in urgent need of better support, a report featuring the testimonies of hundreds of people has found.

The Dispatch • July 2025

The local groups trying to buy Brum back

Bartley Green Library is a tiny little thing; a compact, unassuming Edwardian red-brick structure, that looks more like an outbuilding than a beloved community asset. And yet, it’s become one of several key fronts local groups across Birmingham are fighting a mostly unreported battle on.

The Lead • July 2025

How Bristol put a lid on temporary accommodation costs amid homelessness crisis

Councils are piloting ways to tackle the cost of housing a record number of homeless families while we wait for a new strategy from the government.

The Dispatch • May 2025

Secretive and rushed: inside the fire sales flogging £1bn of Brum’s public assets

Today, Matty Edwards is inside the auction rooms where Birmingham’s public assets are quietly being sold off to help meet a £1bn bill. But concerns are being raised about the process.

The Bristol Cable • April 2025

One woman's battle against council bailiffs

Bristol City Council claims to have an ‘ethical’ debt collection policy, but has sent bailiffs to thousands of vulnerable residents’ doors. After pressure from ACORN, the council has finally committed to investigate.

The Bristol Cable • April 2025

Squalid conditions remain at housing block despite council action - The Bristol Cable

Residents of a Clifton block of flats have rallied against persistent damp and mould and another rent increase. But now some are facing eviction threats from their London landlords.

The Lead • April 2025

The social housing tenants left traumatised by decades of neglect

Bristol City Council is one of many local authorities with thousands of tenants in mouldy flats and a £2.2bn black hole in housing budgets is expected by 2028, reports Matty Edwards

The Bristol Cable • March 2025

The Cable reveals how Bristol developers are dodging their duties

The Cable has uncovered a brazen attempt by prolific property developers to escape building affordable housing, at a time when the city is still falling well short of its own targets.

The Bristol Cable • February 2025

Explained: What do council funding reforms mean for Bristol? - The Bristol Cable

The Labour government has promised to ‘fix the foundations’ of council funding after years of austerity left local authorities up and down the country at risk of financial ruin.

The Bristol Cable • February 2025

Dad Matters: Bristol parenting support project faces uncertain future

Dad Matters, set up in 2024, has been supporting men across Bristol to navigate the tricky challenges of early fatherhood – but the council is now working out if it can continue funding the service.

The Bristol Cable • November 2024

East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood opposition mounts

“The first week, it took me 17 minutes for someone to let me out of my road. There was a queue of nine cars trying to get onto Church Road.”


St George resident Kay Jones is one of 30 or so locals at a meeting at Cafe Conscious, in Barton Hill – part of a campaign to stop the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood, a trial scheme restricting through-traffic. 

“My family feels further away,” says Kay, who juggles multiple jobs along with looking after kids, and has to commute as far as Filton an...