x
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies to enhance your experience.
Graham Awards

TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Shelter boss and lettings agency critic honoured in New Year’s list

The chief executive of Shelter - the campaigning charity which has been sharply critical of letting agents in the past - has been honoured with a CBE in the traditional New Year’s list.

Polly Neate, who earlier this year wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson attacking a lettings agency in Leicester for “an abuse of power” following its tweets about Section 21, has been an advocate of scrapping S21 in recent months.

She told Johnson in the letter that: “Your predecessor [Theresa May] took a vital step towards improving the lives of England’s 11m private renters when she unveiled plans to abolish ‘no-fault’ evictions. You can make these plans a reality by seeing through the crucial legislation a Conservative government has already committed to.”

Advertisement

Over the weekend Neate herself took to Twitter to say: “Thank you so much for all the congratulations today. Sorry if I’ve missed replying to anyone. It’s an honour to work with our people at Shelter and to be recognised alongside some of the civil society leaders I most admire. The fight to defend the right to a safe home continues.”

Neate was formerly chief executive of Women's Aid - the national charity working to end violence against women and children - and previously worked at Action for Children and before that was editor of Community Care magazine.

  • James B

    Unbelievable.

  • jeremy clarke

    An absolute disgrace, this woman should have been sacked with no pension for the damage she has done to the PRS!

     G romit

    It's the duplicitous way she promotes Shelter as a charity that is fighting homelessness. Whereas, we all know it is making homelessness much, much worse.

     
  • icon

    It's like a Monty Python sketch.

    We should line up the people who are doling out these awards so we can see what a bunch of idiots look like.

  • Angus Shield

    Really?!!
    What a total shambles the honour system has become!

  • icon

    They should be known by the general public as dishonours. With this highly paid charity monster and Sir Nick Clegg with these things I think anybody honourable should thing twice about accepting them.

  • icon

    As we can't put links on this site may I suggest that everyone googles '' 'Charity ' - Shelter CEO's on £125 K - Year, should NOT receive Honours ''. There you will find a petition stating that she should not have received this honour. If you'd like to add your views whilst signing it would be good.

    icon

    Found and signed.

     
    jeremy clarke

    Signed

     
  • PossessionFriendUK PossessionFriend

    There is very much need to recognise those who ' selflessly ' ( and not the CEO paid £125 k - year ) to be recognised. What about all the Salvation Army volunteers.
    At least they ARE providing Food & Accommodationd instead of an expensive £60 Million a year Faux-charity, half-funded by the Government.
    I think the Charities Commission should be reviewing Shelter's status.
    I personally support all work for the genuine Homeless, like Crisis & Centre Point - who differ from No- Shelter.

  • PossessionFriendUK PossessionFriend

    You can find the Petition link on a number of places, either ;
    on Possession Friend.uk 's face Bk, or by searching on Change.org 's web site.

  • icon
    • 30 December 2019 10:46 AM

    This just proves what the Govt thinks of the PRS.
    Clearly they are contemptuous if it by awarding an honour to this disgrace of a woman.
    Never has a CEO deserved an honour less than this woman.
    It is a national disgrace that a person who has wrought so much destruction in the PRS is rewarded for doing so.
    It tells you as a LL everything you need to know about how the Govt perceives the PRS.
    If this doesn't galvanize LL to leave the AST sector I don't know what will!!
    I say to AST LL you are clearly despised by the PTB who are doing everything they can to make your existence as an AST LL a misery.
    Why bother continuing!?
    There is more to letting than an AST letting.
    Try the other options which currently aren't under attack by the PTB.
    Unfortunately that would result in considerably less business for LA.
    That is just TOUGH!
    LA largely survive on AST letting.
    With LL withdrawing from that market that will put vast commercial pressure on LA viability.
    Gonna be very tough times for LA for those that even survive.

  • Suzy OShea

    Can anyone be surprised at this award? look at the knighthood IDS is being given who as the architect of Universal Credit managed to triple the numbers of homeless people!

    icon
    • 30 December 2019 12:11 PM

    That has been more to do with the OBC which is an entirely correct policy.
    The feckless should have moved to cheaper areas but refused to do so ending up in TA.
    Their CHOICE!
    Granted the roll out of UC has been an unmitigated disaster.
    But that is just bureaucratic failure not anything wrong with the policy.
    Though it has been discovered that there are UC problems that need to be addressed.
    Such a major change in the way welfare was delivered in 49 years was bound to be far from perfect.
    But UC as a principle is a fair one.
    To have the feckless make the same economic choices as those not in receipt of any welfare.
    I consider the OBC far too generous.
    It should be reduced to no more than £15000.
    That will force the feckless to work or move to cheaper areas of the country.
    Most HB claimants aren't needed in the SE.
    They should be deported up North where accommodation is plentiful and far cheaper than the SE.
    Once they have been there for 6 months they will have lost their 'local connection' rights condemned forever to be a Northerner!!
    But a lot cheaper for the taxpayer.
    70% of the feckless welfare claimants in receipt of HB don't bother working so why should the taxpayer pay vastly more expensive HB in the SE compared to the cheaper North.
    It would greatly benefit the North's economy if the SE got rid of it's HB claimants.
    Welfare claimants tend to spend everything they have and this would greatly enhance the Northern economy.

     
  • icon

    It's like something from George Orwell's 1984.

    Shelter would be a great example of doublespeak an organisation that provides no Shelter whatsoever and vilifies those that do.

    A CBE to Polly Neate the highly paid leader of the pitchfork brigade???? No thanks.

    PossessionFriendUK PossessionFriend

    We need to mobilise and get some facts about No-Shelter out to the public and the many Corporate partners, aside from the Govt, that heavily support them.
    Only something ridiculous like 9 pence in the pound taken in their shops actually is 'profit'
    Shelter have capitalised on a totally opposite name for what they do, which is ; a
    Rogue-Tenant Legal Advice centre, at an Annual cost of 60 Million - In addition to Legal Aid ! to Tenants who are often the perpetrators of ASB, or rent-defaulters in winning a court case, is Not Charity, as a normal person understands.
    How many million of the the public think that Shelter provide just that ( when they Don't provide either Food or Accommodation )
    Genuine Help for the Homeless is welcome and I know a number of landlords who give charitably to that cause [ aside from actually providing Homes for tenants ] - but Shelter are pernicious and their myth needs busting.
    Their status as a 'Charity' should be seriously questioned, as helping Tenants

     
  • icon
    • 31 December 2019 12:09 PM

    Unfortunately Shelter serves the Tory Govt very well.
    They support the bonkers S24 and aren't going to do anything that stops Govt funding their little racket.
    Shelter is effectively a very useful idiot for Govt to propagate Govt attacks on the PRS.
    Obviously all in the hope that tenants will vote Tory.
    Expect much more landlord bashing to come.
    The ultimate aim of Shelter and the Govt is to reduce the PRS to where it was 50 years ago.
    About 8% of the housing market.
    I just can't see millions of tenants magically becoming homeowners so wonder where they will live as LL sell up.

icon

Please login to comment

MovePal MovePal MovePal
sign up