How did we end up with a housing crisis that has left hundreds of thousands homeless across the UK, unaffordable rents and home ownership getting further out of reach? And how can we fix it? Join Faiza Shaheen, economist and director of Tax Justice for this important conversation with broadcaster Salma El-Wardany as we explore how we got here and how we can fix the system to ensure everyone has access to safe, affordable housing in the UK.

Faiza Shaheen is an economist, writer, political commentator and activist. She is currently the Executive Director of Tax Justice UK, and a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the International Inequalities Institute (III), London School of Economics. She is the author of a range of materials and publications covering the most salient social and economic debates of our times, including inequality, austerity, immigration, and class. Faiza has over 20 years of experience researching the trends and consequences of inequality, designing policies and campaigns to address inequality, and mobilising the public through the media and grassroots political organising. Her book, ‘Know your place: How society sets us up to fail and what we can do about it’ was released in July 2023 on Simon & Schuster.  Previous roles include Program Director for Inequality at New York University, Director of the trade union backed think tank, Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS), Head of Inequality and Sustainable Development at Save the Children and Senior Researcher at the New Economics Foundation. Faiza ran as a Labour and then Independent candidate in her home seat of Chingford and Woodford Green.

Salma El-Wardany is a critically acclaimed author, broadcaster, poet, and speaker.  Her work revolves around the experiences of womanhood, gender, and feminism, shining a spotlight on female stories, through literature, poetry, corporate consulting, keynotes, radio, and television. Salma is also an ambassador for Furnishing Futures.

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Venue: The Atrium, Unit 4, Mentmore Studios, 11 Argall Avenue, London E10 7QE

Access: If you have any access needs, please let us know.

Date: Thursday 5th February 2026

Time: Doors open at 6.30pm for 7pm start

End time: 9pm

Tickets: Pay what you can afford starting from £5

Free tickets

We want to make the events as accessible as possible. We know how hard things are for some people right now and we want to do what we can to help. If you are unable to afford a ticket you can book a free ticket below.

Accessibility information

The Atrium is located in an old industrial building that does not have an accessible toilet or dedicated baby change facilities. We recognise that this is a significant barrier and does not reflect the welcoming, inclusive space we wish to offer. We wish this were not the case and are truly sorry if this prevents you from joining us for an event.

Additional Information

The Atrium retail store will be open 30 minutes before and after the event, selling a range of beautiful furnishings, homewares, gifts and beauty. All proceeds from this event and from sales are in aid of Furnishing Futures charity and go directly towards our work creating healing homes for survivors of domestic abuse.