SQUATTING: EMPTY PREMISES

AS SCHNEWS CROWBARS OPEN THE DOOR OF THE TORY SQUAT CRACKDOWN...

On Wednesday (26th) the government published its response to the squatting consultation (see SchNEWS 791). While none of us were expecting anything sensible to come from a Tory government foaming at the mouth at the prospect of kicking an unpopular minority, the speed of the knee-jerk reaction and its implementation is beyond even our cynical predictions.

The consultation ran from 13th July to 5th October – the shortest possible period, despite the government admitting they knew very little about the subject. In case anyone doubted that this consultation was merely a box ticking exercise (Ken Clarke promised criminalisation before the consultation had even ended), the response published this week ignores the vast majority of respondents and proposes “as a first step... a new offence of squatting in residential buildings” with offenders facing up to 6 months in prison and/or a £5000 fine.

The justification according to Crispin Blunt (Under [in]Justice Secretary) is “the appalling impact squatting can have on... homes, businesses and local communities”.  Though there is very little evidence of this from their own consultation or any other research into homelessness and squatting. As MP John Mcdonnell (one of the few MPs willing to come out in support of squatting) said “there was over 2,200 responses to the consultation on squatting so there is no way the government could have acknowledged all the evidence”.

Only seven respondents to the consultation (0.3% of the total responses) were ‘victims’ of residential squatting. This is despite the fact the consultation was aimed at this group and received widespread publicity from the right-wing press. Other groups in favour of a new law included the CPS, the British Property Federation, some local authorities and Network Rail. On the other hand the vast majority of individuals, the Police, Magistrates’ Association, NUS, University and College Union, Criminal Bar Association, Law Society, High Court Enforcement Officers, SQUASH and all the major homeless charities were against legislation (but hey, what would they know?).

So a law will be based on the views of seven people, reactionary media reports and a handful of self-interest groups. Meanwhile it will adversely affect thousands of vulnerable people as well as those who choose one of the few ways left to live ‘outside the system’.

While the government claims that “stopping short of criminalising squatting in non-residential buildings represents a balanced compromise” –  this clearly poses the wrong kind of compromising situation for people living in unused buildings. Assuming this law gets through (almost guaranteed) and is enforced (not so certain), an exodus from residential to non-residential property will no doubt follow. An increase in high profile commercial and industrial squats will be all the justification the government need to extend the law to cover all buildings. The government has already said that this is merely the first step, the reason the they haven’t gone further already is because of complications around university and workplace occupations – something that would bring much more resistance from the unions and student groups. This tactic obviously worked as on Thursday evening (27th), Labour signalled its support for a ‘squatting crackdown’.

To make matters worse the government are attempting to are burying the new law as an amendment to the already bulging Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. This bill already takes away legal aid from many of those who need it most (see SchNEWS 754) while the amendment regarding squatting has been shoved in at the same time as another populist measure allowing people to attack intruders in their homes.

With the amendments set to be debated next week and receiving cross party support they’ll probably go through pretty easily (it remains to be seen whether the LibDems will go out on a limb, but don’t hold your breath). The law is likely to come into effect early next year. So, parliamentary democracy has failed yet again, where next for the resistance campaign?

Step forward Squatters’ Housing Action Group (SHAG). A SHAG spokesman told SchNEWS that they’re “calling for mass civil disobedience on Monday [31st], we’re not going to stand for this totally undemocratic shit, we need everybody; squatters, trade unionist, students, protesters, homeless charities and more to hit the streets. We need to exercise our democratic right to enter parliament and tell these fuckers they can’t get away with this”

Unfortunately, this message was later toned down and, as things stand, there will be a mass sleep out on Monday night followed by a possible meeting in Parliament on Tuesday. Though it’s very much a ‘watch this space’ situation with squatting groups around the country holding emergency meetings as SchNEWS went to print.

While a mass attack on parliament sounds like fun, squatters are going to need wide ranging support from unions, the fledging Occupy movement and even politicians if there is any hope to actually hinder the legislation itself.

That said, it’s not entirely hopeless. Squatting is as old as land ownership and a few vote grubbing Tory bastards aren’t going to stop it. Squatters might have to become even more organised and better networked, but they’re not going to disappear. Holland criminalised squatting over a year ago, many continue to defy the ban and none have (as yet) served any prison time.

So, if you’re sat on a damp mattress, clutching a baseball bat and using your copy of SchNEWS as particularly poor roach material; worried that the man might be at the door any moment to snatch away your own personal utopia, fear not! Squatting is still legal, justifiable and necessary and will continue to be so for some time yet.

OCCUPY LONDON: LOOSE CANON FIRED

Despite threats of violence from the authorities and anti-activist propaganda from the media, Occupy London has gone from strength to strength. The leaderless representatives of the 99% celebrated their first week in occupation by taking a second site at Finsbury Square (about 5 minutes walk from the first site). The second site is still growing, and they need equipment and people. They’ve a special callout for drivers to haul the tat they’ve collected on site.

The resignation of the Canon of St Pauls, Dr Giles Fraser, has grabbed everyone’s attention.  In his resignation statement he explained that “I cannot support using violence to ask people to clear off the land.”  No wonder this has caught the mainstream media by surprise - this must be the only time that City figure has resigned on principle.

The fake scandals, that the church ‘had’ to close due to health and safety (the deadly presence of tents and stoves), and that the tents were empty at night have both unravelled due to them being total bollocks.

Occupy LSX now boasts its own newspaper, The Occupied Times of London. The first edition came out on Wednesday, with more to follow. Read all about it here: http://occupylsx.org/?p=509 .

Meanwhile Outside of London...

Fashionably late, but guaranteed to be fantastic darling, Occupy Brighton is holding its first General Assembly this Saturday at 2pm, Victoria Gardens.

Unfortunately up in Occupied Glasgow things have taken a turn for the tragic. After a turnout of over 500 on their demo and a decent presence at the occupation, they looked set to defy the authorities and protest bankers’ greed. According to media reports, on Wednesday night one of the protesters was raped by a group of drunks who had invaded the site. Now Glasgow Council has ordered an eviction of the site.

Other occupations continue both in the UK and abroad. SchNEWS’ award for ‘Most Interesting Foreign Occupation of The Week’ goes to Occupy Oakland  where particularly oppressive policing has seen tents getting routinely destroyed and one protester get a tear gas cannister fired into his face.

RUN OF THE MILLBANK

As students new and old start a new term of school, college or university, the first national student and education workers demo since March is planned for Tuesday 9th November, marking a year since Millbank-gate (see SchNEWS 747). Police are trying their hardest to silence dissent before it happens. Their want to ban the march from the City on the spurious grounds of traffic disruption.

Despite this, the NUS is, rather surprisingly, supporting the demo, and co-ordinated anarchist, union and anti-cuts protests are planned to culminate in a mass action through the streets of London.

Assemble at 12 noon at the University of London Union (ULU) on Malet Street. See facebook.com/event.php?eid=172700659466128 for the Facebook Event Page and more info.

CUADRILLA THRILLER

The anti-fracking campaign is continues to gain momentum after the succesful Camp Frack back in September (see SchNEWS 788), and recent earthquakes in Lancashire caused by Cuadrilla’s shale gas extraction (see SchNEWS 793).

The next action planned is on Wednesday 2nd November; chosen to coincide with the national Shale Gas Environmental Summit. Pegged as ‘a blatant piece of greenwash designed purely to attract investors’ by demonstration organisers Frack Off, the conference is sponsored by a host of organisations, all with (in)vested interests in seeing the fracking industry blow up in the UK (as opposed to just blowing up the UK).

People wishing to join the demo should meet at Copthorne Tara Hotel, the conference venue, at 3pm. Bring yer protest staples of gas masks, green face paint and anything that makes a loud noise.

*www.frackoff.org

WOOD YOU BELIEVE IT

A local meeting of Worthing Planning Committee ended in shock and anger last Thursday (20th) as councillors controversially re-approved the building of 700 homes on land currently occupied by ancient forest, Titnore Woods.

In March 2010, local residents and protest camp occupiers celebrated the end of an eight-year battle (and a four-year tree-camp) as the council threw out the development plans (see SchNEWS 714). However, having let a ‘respectable’ amount of dust settle (and the protest camp totally tat down), that decision has been , er, completely overturned - a move that saw councillors having to sneak out the back door to escape the wrath of locals.

Campaign organisation Protect Our Woodland is appealing for anyone at the meeting to get in touch - as well as anyone wanting to get involved in the re-emerging resistance.

* For an overview of previous resistance seen schnews.org.uk/features/show_feature.php?feature=10

DALE FARM: NOMADS LAND

Last Thursday (20th) after a month long struggle of battles and barricades, the Dale Farm residents and Camp Constant supporters walked off the site, leaving their homes to the bailiffs’ tools of destruction. Resident Mary Sheridan said, “Leaving with supporters today is about our own dignity and our appreciation of the support we’ve received. We’re leaving together as one family, and we are proud of that- you can’t take away our dignity”.

In the aftermath, questions continue to fly at Tory Councillor Tony Ball and local MP John Baron as the issues of where the travellers go now take priority. Out of the links forged between supporters and travellers at Dale Farm, a new collective, the Traveller Solidarity Network has been formed. The group ‘aims to provide solidarity with Travellers, Roma and Gypsies in fighting ethnicity and class based discrimination and persecution’ on a national scale.

Despite the main eviction have taken place, the carnage doesn’t stop. One remaining resident sent this in to SchNEWS:

“I am writing from Dale Farm, I am a legal observer and a traveller. Since returning here today I have been shocked how much demolition and destruction Constant & Co have been able to do.

They have fenced off the entire site and created a mini Palestine. There are a few of us on the ground who are legal observers but we need more, we also need photographers and film makers. The bailiffs are being racist to the travellers and there are a number of female and elderly travellers who were injured by the police during their attack on site. One woman who was on the original Dale Farm house plot and who is allowed to remain here in her property was assaulted by the police after a number of them broke through the brick wall and then proceeded to kick her in the back. She has a fractured spine and a chip in one vertebrae.

Please, there are a lot of traumatised people here, can you ask your friends and family to show some support to the travellers. If we are not able to resist then the least we should do is bear witness to the start of the ethnic cleansing that is happening to travellers in Basildon.”

Next Friday (5th) a meeting has been called by the Traveller Solidarity Network to discuss and debate the issues that arose at Dale Farm and which face traveller communities all over Britain.

Meet at Cityside House, 40 Adler St, London E1 1EE. RSVP to savedalefarm@gmail.com to attend.

*dalefarm.wordpress.com

*travellersolidarity.org

EDL: BRUM FASH CLASH

The EDL are taking their roadshow back to Brum this week. SchNEWS assumes they’ll be hoping to avoid a re-run of their last two visits to the UK’s second largest city (see SchNEWS 687) , which saw them chased round the town centre by Asian youth and anti-fascists.

A spokesman for the autonomous Anti-Fascist Network told SchNEWS “After the poor showing in Tower Hamlets (see SchNEWS 787 – Ed) and the splits in the movement with the various Infidel groups heading off on race-hate trajectories of their own the EDL are struggling to maintain their profile – they can be beaten”.

At the moment the EDL are going to be confined to a static demo in Centenary Square – meeting 12.30pm, while counter-protestors are set to gather just across the way in Chamberlain Sq. Nearby Victoria Square is currently the scene of Occupy Birmingham, now into its fourth week.

Meet 12pm Chamberlain Square – Birmingham

* http://antifascistnetwork.wordpress.com/

POOR'S PAY REIGNED IN

There were muted celebrations from cleaners at Buckingham Palace last week as they won a pay rise from £6.45 to the princely sum of £7.50 per hour – still short of the London Living Wage of £8.30 they had been campaigning for.

Sadly Her Majesty’s altruism has its limits. On the day the pay rise was announced, hospitality contractor ‘Off To Work’ was offering shifts for a “wonderful team” to work at Windsor Castle for £6.81 per hour. Part of Off To Work’s “company vision” is that people “should feel like kings for one small moment” – presumably it wasn’t referring to its staff.

I AM SPARKTACUS

The radical electricians block ‘the Sparks’ continued their campaign against sweeping pay-cuts  across the industry with a march on Wednesday 26th.

A construction site in Blackfriars London  – run by Balfour Beatty site was shut down for the day (and no they didn’t turn up and wander around scratching their chins and saying, between sucks of teeth, “Blimey guv, the cowboys you’ve had in ‘ere...”)

There are signs that the trade as a whole is becoming more militant in reaction to the the big eight construction companies taking advantage of the recession to try and hammer home a 35% pay cut. There have been packed meetings in Liverpool, Glasgow and London.

So far action has been grass-roots - ‘the Sparks’ exist outside the conventional union structure and dodge the bullet of the anti-union laws enacted by Thatcher. There’s been a welcome cross over with the Occupy London and radical student movement; student activists unfurled a 10-metre banner across Cannon street during the action declaring “All Power to the Sparks”.  

We at SchNEWS are always ready to give ‘em a big plug too.

AND FINALLY

Dedicating your life to the service of pure evil perhaps isn’t as easy as you might think – volcano bases, monorails and white cats don’t come cheap. But one man is making it look like a breeze – after all how do you go further to the dark side than being a long term Tory and the spokesman for the Countryside Alliance? Well, move on from a stint of defending the rights of inbreds to butcher wildlife with shovels, and attacks on women’s rights with an anti-abortion campaign, and become the press spokesman for a cannibal dictator. That’s the path taken by Adrian Yalland, vice president of Chelgate P.R, who deals with “a number of clients with politically sensitive, complex or complicated communications needs”.

Adrian or ‘Yallers’, as he probably doesn’t want to be known, recently grabbed headlines for co-ordinating an all-expenses-paid trip for Tory M.Ps to Equatorial Guinea, funded by the no doubt entirely independent and utterly non-sinister Triarius Foundation.

Equatorial Guinea is ruled with an iron fist by President Obiang, who together with his network of cronies, pockets the revenue of sub-Saharan Africa’s third largest oil producing country while keeping the rest of the population in abject poverty. The country regularly features as the worst of the worst when it comes to human rights abuses. Obiang has claimed to be a god and has done nothing to deny rumours of cannibalism.

Nice work if you can get it Yallers! After all, a man’s gotta eat...