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Hackney Gutter Press

Object

Newspaper

Production date

1972

Object number

2026.23

Physical Description

Hackney Gutter Press newspaper, No. 5: The Great Rent Robbery

Material

Paper

Dimension

Height (Cover): 317mm
Width (Cover): 209mm

On display?

No

Inscription

HACKNEY GUTTER PRESS
NUMBER 5

THE GREAT RENT
ROBBERY
WOMEN, THE LAW
& THE S.S.
SQUATTERS: EVICTIONS
STRIKING DOCKERS &
BUILDERS.

£1 EXTRA RENT from OCT 2nd
COUNCIL VOTES TO SCREW £1,4250,000 MORE OUT OF HACKNEY COUNCIL TENANTS

HACKNEY LABOUR COUNCIL, elected in May last year on the promise of opposition to rent increases and the Tories Rent Act, have voted to increase the rent of every council tenant in Hackney by £1 a week from October 2nd, and put the Rents Act into operation against the tenants of this borough. They did this "in the best interests of their tenants".

After months of delaying tactics, Hackney Council finally held a meeting on August 10th to decide on the Housing Finance Act. Why did they wait so long?

Firstly, to leave it as long as possible after the elections, when the Labour Party was put back in with a huge majority, by promising tenants of Hackney - No Rent Rises! Opposition to the Housing Finance Act!...
They've got short memories.

Second, to wait and see if other Labour councils opposed the Act. One after another London Labour councils caved in, often opposed by a large minority of Labour councillors and under bitter attack from the tenants...Greenwich, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Tower Hamlets. Only Camden have refused to operate the Act, in London. But, mainly up North, a total of 40 councils have, under militant pressure from tenants, refused to implement.