Victory for homeless London mothers

This video from London, England is called Focus E15 Mothers-The People’s Assembly-No More Austerity, Demand the Alternative-21.06.14.

By Conrad Landin in Britain:

Victory as E15 occupation flats handed to homeless

Saturday 18th October 2014

MUMS in a deprived east London borough have hailed a “victory” in their housing campaign after it was announced homeless people would be moved into the flats they occupied in protest at “social cleansing” earlier this month.

In a sensational U-turn, Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales said council homes on the threatened Carpenters Estate in Stratford would be made available next week for borough residents on the council’s waiting list.

The Labour mayor had previously dismissed the Focus E15 Mothers — a group of women who began fighting for social housing when they were booted out of a hostel — as “trots”.

The news came as angry residents of the Cressingham Gardens estate in south London prepare to march to Lambeth Town Hall today in protest at the planned “redevelopment” of their estate, riding on a wave of protests against gentrification.

In an article for the Newham Recorder, Mr Wales blamed Newham’s housing shortage on government cuts.

“Since the council regained possession of the illegally occupied block, officers have been carrying out repairs to make the homes safe and suitable for families to move in as soon as possible.”

But the arrogant mayor said he would still redevelop Carpenters to “provide much needed mixture of housing and tenancies as well as jobs and community space.”

Focus E15 campaigner Sam Middleton told the Star: “It’s good that people are being rehoused but it’s only temporary — and in the long run they still want to knock the estate down.

“We’ve got the keep the pressure up. If they can open up 40 homes on the estate to rehouse people, why can’t they open up them all?”

The Focus E15 Mothers were initially told they would have to move to cheaper accommodation outside London. The borough’s North Korea-style council — with all 60 seats occupied by Labour members — first touted plans to knock down hundreds of homes on the Carpenters Estate and build a £1 billion campus for University College London on the site.

At Cressingham Gardens, a low-rise estate built by renowned architect Ted Hollamby, residents are concerned little or no social housing will be provided on the redeveloped site.

Housing campaigners will take their banners and petitions on the TUC’s Britain Needs a Payrise demo in London today.

A study by Dr Kate Harvey of the University of Reading reveals the devastating impact of food insecurity on a group of children and their parents in Lambeth, a South London borough with a population of 304,000: here.

A single mother-of-five who was made homeless after resisting Westminster Council’s attempt to move the family 50 miles from the capital is applying to the Supreme Court to review her case: here.

Homelessness in London soars by 79% since 2010 – report: here.

UNDER-FIRE Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales is to face a re-selection challenge after local Labour members successfully argued that rules were broken when he was re-endorsed by the party last year. Mr Wales, who has headed the east London council since 1995, has been embroiled in a series of controversies around the gentrification of the deprived borough, including using taxpayers’ cash to help West Ham take over the Olympic Stadium. He has also faced the ire of housing campaigners, including single mothers evicted from a local hostel: here.

Homelessness in London: Rough sleeping increases, removal of families from the city doubles: here.

Related articles

• Redecorate, repopulate: what next for the E15 mums?
• Something Is Stirring In The Capital: The Fight Against Social Cleansing Bursts Into Life
• Sam Middleton & Jasmine Stone, Campaigning Stratford Mothers