We shall not be moved

Yesterday (Monday December 1) more than 500 people took to the streets to show their support for the 93 families from Hoxton’s New Era estate whose homes have been bought up by American firm Westbrook Partners.

Single mum and resident Lindsey Garrett, a Unite member, led the march to Downing Street where a petition with more than 300,000 signatures was handed in to David Cameron.

As she marched with her friends and neighbours she shouted messages aimed at Westbrook including ‘We shall not be moved’.

Some residents have lived on the estate for more than 70 years. Westbrook plans to renovate the flats and then let them for as much as three times the current rent, making them totally unaffordable to the families who live there.

“I’ve lived on this estate for over 30 years,” one of the New Era residents told us. “My niece lives with me. They want to put me in a room in sheltered housing. There’s no room for her to come with me.”

Unite has been at the forefront of the campaign supporting its community members affected by the London housing crisis.

“What we are seeing here is the tip of the iceberg,” said Pilgrim Tucker, Unite community coordinator. “The housing crisis spreads right across the capital and communities in every borough are under threat as fat cat companies buy up public land for redevelopment.”

Hackney North MP Diane Abbot and comedian Russell Brand joined the front of the march with the residents and their children to show their support for the community, which faces being torn apart by ‘corporate greed’.

“A safe home is a human right, not a privilege,” said Jim Kelly, Unite London chair. “Unite will continue to drive the campaign for affordable housing forward.”

The shadow minister for London, Sadiq Khan, called on Westbrook to scrap its plans to evict 93 families from the estate and instead sell the homes to a social landlord that can keep the community together.

“It’s fantastic that we have backing from Labour MPs,” added Kelly. “But what we need now is to continue to put pressure on Boris Johnson and David Cameron. They must be made accountable for the London housing crisis.”

Unite is calling for a massive council house building programme and the regulation of landlords with the emphasis on rent controls which work in Germany and Sweden.

“This is just the beginning of a growing surge in London renters who are not prepared to stand by while our city is socially cleansed by the ultra-rich,” added Tucker. “We need social housing, not social cleansing.”