Photos from the Protest
Action: July 3rd 2021, London
Monthly Archives: June 2021
Homes for All stands in solidarity with Grenfell on 14th June
Four Years and still no justice or change
Grenfell United called a silent march on the day and in an incredibly moving display of solidarity and anger, people across the country came together for vigils and protests to stand with the bereaved and survivors and to remember the 72 lost lives.
A common theme of the protests was that the real perpetrators of social murder are getting away with it, but innocent people remain trapped in unsafe homes and in some cases forced to pay thousands to make their own buildings safe. There is no reason to suppose that another Grenfell tragedy will be avoided. It is only a matter of time.
At Homes for All we are proud to be part of the continuing fight for justice for Grenfell and the struggle to make all housing safe, without the huge financial costs being passed on to the leaseholders, and in some cases, the tenants. The Grenfell fire was the result of a thoroughly corrupt system of housing in this country, where the profits of construction firms, manufacturers, developers and landlords are the main priority, safety comes a poor second and the government ensures they keep getting away with it through a totally inadequate regulatory regime.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the Grenfell community for fighting to get these facts into the open. We will fight on.
Media coverage
BBC News on End Our Cladding Scandal YouTube – with Ed Daffarn and New Providence Wharf
BBC London News with Nabil Choucair, bereaved and Moyra Samuels (Homes for All / Grenfell Campaigner)
Local vigils and protests
Next General Meeting: Saturday 12th June, 2021
Topic: Homes 4 All General Meeting
Time: Jun 12, 2021 11:00 AM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82426578224
Meeting ID: 824 2657 8224
Agenda
1. #EndOurCladdingScandal showroom protest day report (5 June) and next steps
2. Grenfell 4th anniversary actions Monday14th June
3. Campaign Against Empty Homes Day of Action (2nd October) and local reports on empty homes
4. Evictions (moratorium ended 31 May?)
5. Cllr Diarmaid Ward will attend to discuss requisitioning
6. AOB
We look forward to seeing you there.
Join us to mark the 4th anniversary of the Grenfell fire
Local actions. If you know of any others taking place, please email or tweet @Homes4AllUK
Southwark Grenfell 4 Years Anniversary Vigil 6:30pm – 7pm Elephant Park marketing suite (Lendlease) https://fb.me/e/gbI6M0KT7
Haringey Grenfell Solidarity Vigil 18.30 at Haringey Civic Centre https://twitter.com/partridgebirdie/status/1404208676739719172?s=20 https://www.facebook.com/HDCHpage/
Manchester 12:30 – 13:00 St Peter’s Sq / Manchester Central Libraryhttps://twitter.com/McrClad…/status/1403673350451478534…
Liverpool Supporting Grenfell vigil St Lukes Bombed Out Church 6pm https://twitter.com/CllrAnn…/status/1403094500583542786…
Barking Grenfell Vigil 6:30pm – 7pm Samuel Garside House (grassy patch outside)Barking Riverside https://twitter.com/Doge977…/status/1403106456136830982…
Tower Hamlets Remember the Grenfell 72 5.30pm St John’s Church, 200 Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA https://www.facebook.com/events/168398331966069?ref=newsfeed
Milton Keynes, 6pm, Council Offices near the Library https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10225957248901474&id=1342452975
On Monday 14th June, Homes for All is calling for supporters to remember the 72 lives lost and to stand in solidarity with the survivors and bereaved of the Grenfell fire. This must never happen again.
We are asking people to join their friends, workmates, family and neighbours. Make a placard using the slogans below and bring a candle.
Where? Your protest or vigil could be at work, after college, at a developers’ showroom or town hall. It’s up to you.
The important thing is to come together, discuss how we can achieve our demands for justice and have a visible show of solidarity. Take photos and post them on social media.
#JusticeForGrenfell #DecentAndSafeHomesForAll #PeopleBeforeProfit
If you live near North Kensington please join the silent walk organised by Grenfell United.
Grenfell Silent Walk
Notting Hill Methodist Church
240 Lancaster Road, London W11 4AH
6.40pm, 14th June 2021
#EndOurCladdingScandal wave of protests gains national coverage
The leaseholders’ protests at develeopers showrooms and in town centres demanded an end to the building fire safety crisis. Homes for All hosted an online rally including rolling coverage from 10 of the protests and a panel of speakers. There were inspiring contributions from Matt Wrack, General Secretary, Fire Brigades Union, Karim Mussilhy, Grenfell United Jenni Garrett, End our Cladding Scandal and Sarah Rennie, Cladding Leaseholder Disability Action Group (CLADDAG). Protesters in Manchester, West Ham, Chipping Barnet and Brighton demanded that developers should pay to make buildings safe, whilst MP John McDonnell and other MPs and Councillors joined in to support the protests in their areas.
The protests caught the attention of the national press alongside BBC and ITV regional news.
Mirror article Flat owners demand urgent action from Government to end cladding scandal
BBC London clip Protests have been held across the capital
The Facebook and YouTube videos of the online rally have been viewed over 2,000 times.
Watch the Cladding scandal rally on Facebook https://fb.watch/5YpCQNv4E2/
More photos and videos from the wave of protests https://buildingsafetycrisis.org/send-us-your-images-and-video-of-todays-protest/
More details about how to join the fight for safe homes http://www.axethehousingact.org.uk/uncategorized/endourcladdingscandal-time-to-fight-for-fire-safety/
Press Release: Extend the Eviction Ban
PRESS RELEASE from Homes for All – 02/06/2021 for immediate release
Housing Campaign condemns the government’s heartless decision to end the eviction ban, putting hundreds of thousands at risk of homelessness
The Government’s announcement to end the ban on evictions on May 31st 2021 is now on course to plunge hundreds of thousands of private renters into homelessness
The pandemic has shown the extent to which extreme inequality in the UK can be measured through the indicators of insecure, unaffordable and unsafe housing. Shelter and other leading organisations have revealed that the wellbeing of many families has already been compromised in order to pay their rent.
It is essential that the government reverses its decision to end the eviction ban immediately if it is to avoid a massive crisis of homelessness over the coming months and over 100 organizations, campaigns, union representatives and leading spokespeople have signed a letter by the national housing campaign Homes for All calling for this.
John, Lord Bird, founder of The Big Issue, said:
“With the Eviction Ban ending, I fear what the coming months will bring. This is about making sure we don’t condemn hundreds of thousands of people to homelessness.
“It is key that the Government supports decent landlords by getting them back to profitability, whilst preventing mass evictions.
“Those who privately rent will have felt the brunt of Covid-inflicted job losses, falling incomes and rising debts in the past year. The government urgently needs a Covid Rent Debt Fund to clear these debts, get tenants back on their feet, and allow landlords to claim the income they’ve lost.
The Big Issue set up the Ride Out Recession Alliance in Spring 2020 to prevent mass homelessness caused by Covid-19 poverty and called for the Eviction Ban to be upheld. “
John McDonnell MP said:
“The government cannot just stand by and do nothing about the massive wave of evictions that we are now facing. Action is needed urgently to prevent this threatened dramatic rise in homelessness.”
Homes for All is a broad-based coalition campaigning for secure, safe and affordable housing for all and their letter to highlight this issue with nearly 150 signatures from leading union, campaign and political organisations is here: letter here.