“London 2016: the terrain of struggle in our city” – Aylesbury Estate and some seeds of resistance

By Some London Foxes.

This is a small contribution towards mapping the terrain of social conflict in London today.

First, it identifies some big themes in how London is being reshaped, looking at: London’s key role as a “global hub” for international finance capital; how this feeds into patterns of power and development in the city; and the effect on the ground in terms of two kinds of “social cleansing” – cleaning out undesirable people, and sanitising the social environment that remains.

Second, it surveys recent resistance and rebellion to this pattern of control including the short-lived “grassroots housing movement” of last winter, the confrontational Aylesbury Estate occupation, anti-raids mini-riots, and some riotous street parties. [Read More]

London: E15 re-occupy evicted tenant’s home, cops come in hard

Jane from Stratford, East London, and her daughter were evicted from their home last month by scumbag social-cleansing landlords Newham Council. Last Saturday (11 April) she took direct action and re-occupied her flat with support from friends from the local housing action group Focus E15 group. [Read More]

London: Victory to Focus E15 Occupation

The fight for council housing in Newham and London continues

Despite Newham Council’s attempt to evict us, we can today confirm that the E15 Open House occupation will continue until 7th October as planned. 
[Read More]

London: The E15 Mums

“Did you hear the water’s been cut off?”
“No”
“Newham Council say it wasn’t them, but they were photographed out there with their van. They have broken the water mains”

This was the news I was met with when I arrived yesterday to visit the E15 Mums in a squatted social centre in the Carpenters Estate, Newham. Sprawling onto the streets is a hive of activities: kids painting, a free shop, free food and banners that read ‘social housing not social cleansing’. People are chatting, planning meetings, attending workshops, playing guitars and discussing community issues. Why would the local council try to sabotage a property occupied by a community of vulnerable single mothers?
[Read More]

London: East End mums occupy empty council homes in protest over housing policy

A group of housing campaigners and local residents occupied a four-flat block on a largely empty east end estate yesterday in protest over the sell-off of council housing to private developers while former tenants are priced out of the city.

The action on Stratford’s Carpenters Estate marked the anniversary of local campaign group E15Focus Mothers being set-up to fight for the right to stay in the borough after Newham Council proposed housing the group of single mums outside of London. They had previously being living in a hostel that was to be closed by the housing association that ran it. [Read More]