The misery of Housing Association tenants!

There is in fact a national campaign for decent council housing and against privatisation, always assuming you're not too having too much fun slagging folk off! ;-)

Defend Council Housing:
 http://www.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk

Hello Mike,

"Why wont the left help tenants who are being oppressed by their housing association? Secure Housing is one of the most important issues to working class people?"

Well the Camden ALMO vote which was an overwhelming 'NO' had one of my SLP comrades out leafleting and campaigning in the community, we're actually members of the National Housing Committee that I campaigned to set up. As I've said many times council housing privatisation and the results of transfers to HAs, RSLs, Housing Companies, PFI, ALMOs are an issue for we the working class. I've made housing a major issue within the SLP.

"Was out posting Whistle Blower leaflets today in the area of Kensington, were 640 houses are due for demolition. Saw what in my opinion was a traitor tenant and a guy from Riverside’s Community 7 housing association. These ruthless housing associations are now training their own tenants to go out to homeowners who are under threat of demolition and get them to fill forms in to become a prospective tenant of Riverside’s Community 7 if they agree to a price for their house, which C7 want to demolish."

As far as I can gather (I might be wrong) your community is very much a divided community, class wise and economically wise, it's not a homogenous area, housing type varies, different landlords. Most of Liverpool's working class communities are 'divided' by years of oppression, rotten Labour party councillors who frankly aren't up to much.

"Rumour has it that the homeowners, after receiving about between £25,000 to £35,000, will be assured the pick of the best few for rent new builds that will be built in the NDC area. Hundreds of private landlord tenants and Riverside tenants will be shunted out of the area with the promise of just three offers, (private landlord tenants one offer) which will be in crap area in hard to let properties, while certain homeowners and traitorous tenant cronies will be given the prime new builds in the area. If these less important tenants refuse the three offers they will be evicted."

Well unless the community gains a collective awareness of what's happening to them and more people speak out and make a stand, like up in Bootle, they'll go the way of the BOOT estate, the way of Gillmoss, the way of the Liverpool Housing Action Trust High Rise Tenants, the way of numerous working class communities here in Liverpool. Demolitions for profit are a huge issue.

"Riverside’s C7 can not build new houses to put 400 tenants and private landlord tenants in so they are going to slowly move at least 300 poor tenants out of the New Deal area in phases."

This is heavy handed 'social engineering' the policy of 'mixed' tenure was Tory party policy in the 1990's, and it's now Labour Party policy too, it's a case of divide and conquer.

"C7 have already admitted that they are going to steal 100 former tenants houses, do them up at the cost of twelve grand and then sell them at a nock down price to homeowner’s e that are under threat of demolition. Is there any end to the treachery of certain homeowners and the ruthless housing associations? Were is the social justice in this behaviour?"

There ain't no social justice in the 'Free Market' and under capitalism without checks and balances it just runs riot, the unions in Liverpool can't even save their own trade union centre in Hardman Street, can't defend council housing, couldn't defend council 'Direct Labour Organisation' for council workers. The only hope Mike is that a community has enough spirit to make a stand fight back, it's not happening anywhere in Liverpool... YET!!! But Orrell/Klondyke in Bootle is absolutely inspiring...

Kai Andersen

Oh and Labour won their 'variable tuition' vote by 5 votes, so rotten Labour MPs were bought off and silenced...

FACTS Fight Against Council Tenancy Selloffs was set up before Defend Council Housing was. There website is worth a read too Mike, they supplied me with useful information to fight against Stock Transfer in 1998 up in Pinehurst estate.

 http://www.islingtonfacts.org/

DCH has become a containment for some of the most experienced tenant activists in Britain, when I say containment I mean it, contain and control and deliver up the anger of tenants to the very party Labour who've demolished more council housing in their first three years than the Tories did in 18 years. They even had 'Liberals' at their 1999 conference in Manchester, the very same who've betrayed the BOOT estate in Liverpool.

DCH have blocked any kind of radical fight back, I raised in 1999 at their Manchester conference the need for a national protest and demonstration, not a lobby of parliament.
The DCH leaders remember me calling such then and again I called for a day of action at the Liverpool Conference in 2003 in April, the 'Pro-Labour' leadership said we've had a lobby of Parliament, I said no! We want a day of protest, a sit in of all housing offices, I called out "Organise it", silence from the leadership. In seven years since they were set up they've hardly become a force the government are scared of, the DCH are a pressure group and not a very effective one at that, if 'SWP' people in STWC can get close to 2 million people out opposing war in Iraq, what stops the 'SWP' leading the DCH to get hundreds of thousands on the streets of London opposing housing privatisation??? Because it's working class issue maybe?

In the absense of leadership we can only lead ourselves...

Kai

21.01.04 issue of Contract Journal (the construction business weekly), p.18:

"PFI keeps the party going"
(a report on orders won by the top 50 building contractors in 2003)



"...Social Housing work continues to grow, though it remains frustratingly slow to filter through. This has been partlt because of the interminable time taken up negotiating PFIs, a concept the government seems to have gone cooler on.

As Housing Minister Lord Rooker told CJ last year, the favoured route in the future is likely to be stock transfer -- even with the added uncertainty of the tenant vote thrown in.

But with the government's target for getting all social housing up to the decent homes standard by 2010 starting to loom, and the best part of 20billion pounds worth of refurbishment work necesary, it's unlikely social housing contractors will be short of work. It may turn out to be a very good time for CJ50 winner Balfour Beatty to have bought into the sector thropugh its acquisition of Mansell..."

21.01.04 issue of Contract Journal (the construction business weekly), p.18:

"PFI keeps the party going"
(a report on orders won by the top 50 building contractors in 2003)



"...Social Housing work continues to grow, though it remains frustratingly slow to filter through. This has been partly because of the interminable time taken up negotiating PFIs, a concept the government seems to have gone cooler on.

"As Housing Minister Lord Rooker told CJ last year, the favoured route in the future is likely to be stock transfer -- even with the added uncertainty of the tenant vote thrown in.

"But with the government's target for getting all social housing up to the decent homes standard by 2010 starting to loom, and the best part of 20billion pounds worth of refurbishment work necesary, it's unlikely social housing contractors will be short of work. It may turn out to be a very good time for CJ50 winner Balfour Beatty to have bought into the sector through its acquisition of Mansell..."

Just to defend Defend Council Housing, I'm sure they'd be delighted to see hundreds of thousands turn out for a protest, but they can't summon them by magic!

The best any campaign leadership can do is build the broadest possible coalition, call + publicise protests and hope for the best. In the case of Stop the War that turned out to be millions, in other cases far fewer; that's just the way it goes, nothing to do with treating issues more or less seriously.

Personally I'd like to see a massive national protest about pensions + care charges, but I don't have Orbiting Mind Control Satellites so I just have to keep trying to build up links with UNISON, National Pensioners Convention etc, big up their actions and hope for the best. What else would you do?

One person here states that it is the Labour councillor's fault what has happened in Kensington, Liverpool. In fact this area has been represented by the Lib Dems for a number of years and Liverpool is a Lib Dem controlled authority.

Never seen this site before, and you have drawn my attention to a very interesting and valid point, perhaps you could check your grammar and proof read your article next time though, before it goes live.

Just a suggestion!

I will keep watching formore information.