March against the Housing Bill – Saturday 30th January
Tell everyone what the Tories are doing to social housing!
- The Housing Bill marks the end of social housing: The end of secure lifetime tenancies.
- Council tenancies will be for 2 to 5 years with no right to pass it on to your children.
- Landlords will have access to tenant’s personal income information and if households start to earn over £40,000 (a couple on the living wage) they will be hit with a PAY-TO-STAY TAX for the difference between their social rent and the market rent – in Waterloo that would be an average of £26,000.
- Local authorities will be forced to sell ‘high value’ properties whenever they come vacant – what flat in London is not high value?
- Housing association tenants will get the right to buy, so reducing stock further.
- Private renters and travellers will have reduced housing rights.
- Developers will have to build ‘starter homes’ for sale instead of ‘affordable’ homes for rent.
- Starter homes will be worth up to £450,000 and sold at a 20% discount – but only to people with enough money to get that kind of a mortgage!
Around 200 people took part in the protest today outside parliament against the Housing Bill. 100 more joined John McDonnell, Jeremy Corbyn and housing campaigners inside parliament this evening for a protest meeting.
There is a real sense of urgency now about building this campaign and getting the widest possible involvement to stop the Tories doing away with social housing for good.
At the conference ‘Another Lambeth is Possible’ before Christmas we agreed to organise a march against the Bill, specifically from Lambeth, and we have now called it for Saturday the 30th of January.
Assembling at 12noon at the Imperial War Museum and marching to Downing Street for 2pm
Other groups are discussing marching to join us from other parts of the city and there will also be a Kill the Housing Bill organising meeting from 11am to 1pm on Saturday 16 January at the Unite offices at 128 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8TN.
So please sign up on Facebook to join the Lambeth March against the Housing Bill and please share it widely or forward the leaflet text below to your email lists. https://www.facebook.com/events/817880454987012/
This a leaflet people can print off for friends, workmates and neighbours.
Or join our googlegroup where we do a lot of our organising leafletting etc (just email lambethhousingactivists@gmail.com and ask to be added)
I am a member of Lambeth Green Party and RMT member with Waterloo RMT branch, I will be attending march on 30th January and will encourage others to attend. Have there been any leaflets printed that I can pick up from somewhere as I have a union meeting on 28th January. I will be going on march before I start work at 3pm and maybe get others to join me.
Cheers
Richard. Don’t own a printer to print off leaflets. Please let South East Regional TUC know about your march, if you haven’t told them. As they have a big e-mailing list
Hi Richard sorry nobody replied sooner! Didn’t see these comments. There are leaflets at the art nouveau cafe in Brixton 77 atlantic road if it’s not too late for you to collect some tomorrow?
Thanks.
With you all the way as an ordinary working woman living with my partner (in work) and our daughter, 18 years in our lovely home and community, near work, what will happen April 2017 if rent goes up to £2000 or more per month? Is there an Islington or North London group you know of? I work sats and nights so can”t make march sadly.