Protests in Westminster on Tuesday 5th January 2016 by housing groups who say ‘Tories Threatens Social Housing’ and Kurds protesting against Turkish support for ISIS and the genocide of Kurds.
Kill the Housing Bill protest – Westminster
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 passed by the Tory government was said to be a landmark in housing policy aimed a promoting home ownership and it was claimed would lead to an increase in the number of homes being built.
In practice it seemed to have little impact on home building, which continued to show a small annual increase from its low point in 2010-2011. But the act did radically incorporate Tory views about housing and in particular the individual ownership of homes, both through the extension of ‘right to buy’ to housing association tenants and its attack on social housing which seem aimed at increasingly marginalising what many of us see as the most sensible and cost-effective way to provide housing certainly for those on below average incomes, if not more widely.
Tory housing policies changed radically over the years. In 1968 local authorities built over 190,000 new homes and although this had roughly halved by the Thatcher became PM in 1979, by the time she left office this was down to 17,000 with numbers continuing to drop both under the Tories and New Labour – with only 130 new local authority homes in 2004.
Aspects of the bill were opposed by over 150 housing sector organisations, but their submissions were ignored by the government. As well as its attack on both housing association and local authority housing the act also brought in a discriminatory reduction of available housing sites for Gypsies and Travellers and also hit barge dwellers.
Architects for Social Housing prepared a summary of its effects which I quoted on My London Dairy:
- Replace the obligation to build homes for social rent with a duty to build starter homes capped at £450,000 in London and £250,000 in England;
- Extend the Right to Buy to housing associations without the obligation to replace them, further depleting the number of hoems for social rent;
- Compel local authorities to sell ‘high value’ housing, either transfering public housing into private hands or freeing up the land it sits on for property developers;
- Force so-called ‘high income’ tenants with a total household income over £30,000 (£40,000 in London) to pay market rents;
- Grant planning permission in principle for housing estates designated as such to be redeveloped as ‘brownfield land’;
- Phase out secure tenancies and their succession to children and replace them with 2-5 year tenancies – with such tenancies also being applicable to tenants who have been ‘decanted’ for the purposes of redevelopment.
The only ‘good’ housing so far as the Tories are concerned is housing which creates profits for the private sector, many of whom make large contributions to party funds, These include house builders and private renters, including ‘buy to let’ owners who use their ability to borrow money to get tenants to buy properties for them. Buy to let mortgages first became available in 1996 and since then have seen a huge growth, particularly with the exceptionally low interest rates available until recently.
The protest on Tuesday 5th January 2016 in Old Palace Yard was on a day when the bill was being rushed through in parliament, and was supported by a very wide range of organisations, though most were only represented by a handful of people.
As I reported, “there were clearly differences in the way some thought the protest should be conducted. While Class War and others protested loudly at the front of the crowd facing Parliament, with some powerful speeches from Lisa McKenzie and Martin Smith among others and some housing songs led by John Hamilton of Lewisham People Before Profit and the Strawberry Thieves Choir, a smaller group at the back in front of George V seemed determined to hold a separate and more organised event. And when someone set off a green smoke flare, a SWP newspaper seller came and picked it up to carry away from the protest.”
Eventually after a number of speeches, Class War and friends decided it was time for a more active protest and decided to go on a march. Police tried to prevent them, but when this didn’t work gave up and facilitated a short march along the Embankment and up Horseguards Avenue to Whitehall and Downing St, where they blocked the road for a few minutes before moving on to protest in front of the Houses of Parliament in Parliament Square and then rejoin the smaller group who were still in Old Palace Yard, where speeches were continuing.
More at Kill the Housing Bill protest.
Kurds protest Turkish army killings – Parliament Square
Also in Parliament Square were Kurds protesting against the Turkish support for ISIS and the attacks on Kurds in Syria by ISIS and the Turkish army. Turkey is carrying out a policy of genocide against the Kurdish people, who have suffered years of oppression in Turkey.
More at Kurds protest Turkish army killings.
Tags: Class War, London, march, peter Marshall, police, protest