George Monbiot

landrights & planning

Political Barbed Wire
Why are 97% of our rivers shut to the public? A millionaire minister’s amazing conflicts of interest give you a clue. Read more – ‘Political Barbed Wire’.
Line of Battle
The line that separates the public from the private sphere is arbitrary, but fiercely policed. Read more – ‘Line of Battle’.
A Telling Silence
Why we need land value taxation. Read more – ‘A Telling Silence’.
Hidden Claws
Could the rubbish published in the Observer about birds of prey be related to the author’s undisclosed interests? Read more – ‘Hidden Claws’.
The Great Impostors
In the name of saving the natural world, governments are privatising it. Read more – ‘The Great Impostors’.
Lead Soldiers
A new front opens up in the war against nature. Read more – ‘Lead Soldiers’.
The Promised Land
This is the fate of young people today: excluded, but forbidden to opt out. Read more – ‘The Promised Land’.
Anomie
Enclosure and dispossession have driven us, like John Clare, all a little mad. Read more – ‘Anomie’.
Mythologists of the Glen
A report on deer in the Scottish Highlands is a sycophantic paean to Balmorality and landed power. Read more – ‘Mythologists of the Glen’.
War with the Wullies
This planning battle is a fight between the people and a totalitarian model of capitalism. Read more – ‘War with the Wullies’.
Making a Mockery of Localism
The government’s claim that local people will have more say over planning is an outright lie. Read more – ‘Making a Mockery of Localism’.
Terra Nullius
Read the small print and you find that the government wants a total abandonment of the planning system. Read more – ‘Terra Nullius’.
Atro-city
As Sydney residents are being paid to leave the city, the case for compact, high-density settlement becomes clearer than ever. Read more – ‘Atro-city’.
Forest Chumps
The sale of England’s state forests is a chance to do something interesting. It’s being squandered. Read more – ‘Forest Chumps’.
In a Hole, Still Digging
Why does England have weaker rules on opencast mining than Wales and Scotland? Read more – ‘In a Hole, Still Digging’.
Home Rule
Here’s the remarkable, hidden truth about our housing crisis. Read more – ‘Home Rule’.
Turning Estates into Villages
How good planning can make us slimmer, fitter, safer and less lonely. Read more – ‘Turning Estates into Villages’.
The Propaganda of the Victor
How the poor were airbrushed from history Read more – ‘The Propaganda of the Victor’.
Three Million Homes?
Yes, I am sorry to say, we need them. Read more – ‘Three Million Homes?’.
The New Coal Age
A vast new opencast pit will ruin local people’s lives and wreck the government’s climate change policies. How was it allowed to happen? Read more – ‘The New Coal Age’.
Someone Else’s Legacy
Everywhere they go, the Olympic Games become an excuse for eviction and displacement. Read more – ‘Someone Else’s Legacy’.
Marooned in the Suburbs
When planning laws are relaxed, it is the poor who suffer most. Read more – ‘Marooned in the Suburbs’.
Untroubled by Democracy
The consultations surrounding the Olympic Games are a stitch-up. Read more – ‘Untroubled by Democracy’.
Britain’s Most Selfish People
Owning a second home during a housing crisis ensures that other people are homeless. Read more – ‘Britain’s Most Selfish People’.
Lady Tonge – an Apology
I was wrong. She is not a bully, a fool or a stooge. She is a comedian. Read more – ‘Lady Tonge – an Apology’.
A Bully in Ermine
Lady Tonge is using her unelected position to persecute some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Read more – ‘A Bully in Ermine’.
Property Paranoia
Wealth is beginning to reduce our freedoms Read more – ‘Property Paranoia’.
Living with the Age of Entropy
Is a life without fossil fuel possible? Read more – ‘Living with the Age of Entropy’.
Driven Out of Eden
Our quest for Paradise always appears to result in eviction or genocide Read more – ‘Driven Out of Eden’.
Our Racist Demonology
Robert Mugabe is portrayed as the prince of darkness, but when whites expel black people from their lands, nobody gives a damn. Read more – ‘Our Racist Demonology’.
Rich Man’s Castle
Greens must not allow themselves to be used by the wealthy to shut out low cost homes. Read more – ‘Rich Man’s Castle’.
A Damning Alibi
The latest British sleaze scandal hints at a far bigger, untold story Read more – ‘A Damning Alibi’.
Lords of Misrule
The destruction of the Countryside and Rights of Way Bill by the “new” House of Lords shows that it’s just as bad as the old one Read more – ‘Lords of Misrule’.
Still Digging
The 17th Century campaigner Gerrard Winstanley is a hero for the 21st Century Read more – ‘Still Digging’.
We Share the Blame for Zimbabwe
Britain’s Debt to its People Runs into Billions Read more – ‘We Share the Blame for Zimbabwe’.
The Price of Dissent
People are being ruined for opposing development Read more – ‘The Price of Dissent’.
Criminally Different
Travelling people are being hounded out of existence Read more – ‘Criminally Different’.
Cannibal Feast
By buying second homes all over Britain, the rich are preying on the lives of the poor Read more – ‘Cannibal Feast’.
Move the Capital to Newcastle
It’s the only way to bridge Britain’s disastrous divisions Read more – ‘Move the Capital to Newcastle’.
Drawbridge Society
The Urban Task Force will keep the poor where they belong Read more – ‘Drawbridge Society’.
Free at last
We get the right to roam, but a predatory landlord has been chosen to enforce it Read more – ‘Free at last’.
More Broken Promises
Where is the right to roam the government pledged? Read more – ‘More Broken Promises’.
Sold Down the River
50 per cent of all the new homes in central and inner London are being sold to speculators in the Far East Read more – ‘Sold Down the River’.
Ghost Towns
We need stiff sanctions against second home ownership Read more – ‘Ghost Towns’.
Go on, Trespass
Why are we waiting for an official right to roam, when we can start walking now? Read more – ‘Go on, Trespass’.
Hard-wired Traffic Jams
The Government’s transport policies are being destroyed by its housebuilding plans Read more – ‘Hard-wired Traffic Jams’.
A War Against the Poor
New housing plans are shutting the poor out of the South-East of England Read more – ‘A War Against the Poor’.
Protecting the Countryside Means Defending the Poor
The Government’s plans for coping with greenfield housing demand are misconceived Read more – ‘Protecting the Countryside Means Defending the Poor’.
Government by Business
The new Regional Development Agencies have no democratic legitimacy Read more – ‘Government by Business’.
Building on Sand
Hong Kong’s financial difficulties are partly due to land speculation. Britain has the same unhealthy patterns Read more – ‘Building on Sand’.
Ditch the Dome
It’s a monumental folly Read more – ‘Ditch the Dome’.
Priced Out
Charging for access to our national monuments reduces the poor to trespassers in their own nation Read more – ‘Priced Out’.
Enemy of the Earth
John Gummer presides over the Government’s starkest conflict of interest Read more – ‘Enemy of the Earth’.
Home not Domes!
Read more – ‘Home not Domes!’.
The Story of the Land
We need land reform in England just as much as in Scotland Read more – ‘The Story of the Land’.
Theft Is Property
If MPs really want to repeal the statute of limitations, they’ll find themselves in deeper water than they think Read more – ‘Theft Is Property’.
Decisions For Sale
Developers have discovered devious ways of buying planning permission Read more – ‘Decisions For Sale’.
Grubbing Out the Past
Britain’s archaeology is being obliterated – often with the help of archaeologists – yet hardly anyone seems to care Read more – ‘Grubbing Out the Past’.
Seize It Back
Many of the world’s most pressing problems arise from the enclosure of land. Read more – ‘Seize It Back’.
The Land Where We Belong
Land use in Britain will always work against us, until we demand control over the decisions which govern it Read more – ‘The Land Where We Belong’.
Whose Nation, Whose Trust?
The National Trust must lose its attachment to aristocratic values Read more – ‘Whose Nation, Whose Trust?’.
The Bulldozer of State
The decision to build a road takes place before the public inquiry begins Read more – ‘The Bulldozer of State’.
Beloved Country
South Africa has embarked on a brave and hazardous land reform programme Read more – ‘Beloved Country’.
Get Off My Planet
Britain’s landlords are trespassing against our right to enjoy the countryside Read more – ‘Get Off My Planet’.
Britain’s Cultural Cleansing
Our treatment of gypsies and travellers reveals Little England at its worst: mean-spirited, vindictive and narrow-minded. Read more – ‘Britain’s Cultural Cleansing’.
Inheriting The Wind
Review of Slide Mountain, or The Folly of Owning Nature, by Theodore Steinberg Read more – ‘Inheriting The Wind’.
A Land Reform Manifesto
A new campaign is born Read more – ‘A Land Reform Manifesto’.
Dispossessed without trace
The Brazilian press and political system is ignoring a wholesale theft of land and the murder of its people Read more – ‘Dispossessed without trace’.
The Scattering of the Dead
A disastrous project funded by the Canadian Government is destituting an African people Read more – ‘The Scattering of the Dead’.
The Maasai and the Mercedes Men
A fraudulent privatisation project is reducing the Maasai to little more than tourist dancers Read more – ‘The Maasai and the Mercedes Men’.
Keepers of the Artificial Wilderness
In East Africa, conservationists are creating a wilderness out of inhabited lands, then punishing the people they have dispossessed Read more – ‘Keepers of the Artificial Wilderness’.
Moses in the Wilderness
One man’s story might hold the key to the survival of the Maasai Read more – ‘Moses in the Wilderness’.
Fire in a Box
Britain’s protest movements have emerged in response to the enclosure of the land, the mind and political power. They are seeking to recover the freedom all of us have lost Read more – ‘Fire in a Box’.
Hero or Villain?
Richard Leakey’s reappointment as head of the Kenya Wildlife Service is a disaster for Kenya’s nomads Read more – ‘Hero or Villain?’.
The Tragedy of Enclosure
The “Tragedy of the Commons” is one of the modern world’s most dangerous myths. Read more – ‘The Tragedy of Enclosure’.
A Pox on the Planet
Golf course development is becoming one of the major threats to the environment and human rights Read more – ‘A Pox on the Planet’.
Your Round
Why doesn’t Guinness stop fighting us and help us to turn its land into something worthwhile? Read more – ‘Your Round’.