According to the Thurrock Independents group of councillors, it would now appear that Thurrock Council are now actively housing homeless families in permanent accommodation outside of the borough: Yet Another Tory Housing Failure! What we’re now seeing is social cleansing from Thurrock.

A combination of an acute shortage of social housing in Thurrock, a private rented sector charging way beyond what many households on low incomes can afford and last but by no means least, the impact of social cleansing from London are all contributing to this sorry situation. We’ve written a lot about the housing situation in London and how that has an impact on communities way beyond the capital. Rather than re-hash the arguments we’ve made, we’ll link back to what we’ve written in the past:

Booted out of Newham
What happens with housing in London has an impact all the way along the estuary (and beyond)
A reminder of why we support housing struggles in London
The housing domino effect…

People on the housing waiting list out here in Thurrock and other local authority areas along the estuary are understandably angry about their situation. They do not want to be uprooted and moved to another part of the country away from family, friends and any support networks they may have to rely upon. Which is exactly how a lot of the households being socially cleansed from London feel.

The problem is there are reactionary elements lurking in the shadows who want to exploit people’s anger for their own ends. Part of their strategy is to get people out here in Thurrock who face being moved away to put the blame for their plight on those being moved out of London against their will. The point is that everyone is a victim of the social cleansing of London which is a consequence of the policy of making the capital a welcome home for the global super rich.

The housing struggles in London waged by communities who refuse to be uprooted is the same fight as that out here in Thurrock by people who want to stay in the borough. Let’s unite, fight as one and tell the reactionary divide and rule merchants where to go!