Keeda rehoused closer to her son's school than CityWestHomes planned, thanks to KUWG

Keeda rehoused closer to her son's school than CityWestHomes planned, thanks to KUWG

Yesterday, members of Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group, Brent Housing Action and Housing for All successfully intervened in the eviction of a 30 weeks pregnant woman in the Queens Park area that was orchestrated by City West Homes, the ALMO of Westminster City Council.

Turning out in numbers of more than ten and with on-the-morning mobile phone alerts and armed with a megaphone, we helped alert the street to what was happening, announced that we would be there until the heavily pregnant Keeda was given alternative accommodation closer to her son's Hammersmith & Fulham school than the East End. The longer the eviction was delayed, the more Westminster City Council would fork out of the public purse to pay for the hire of the bailiffs and police.

By the start of that afternoon's KUWG afternoon meeting, Keeda had moved into a Hendon flat in with her cats that had been her early warning system regarding the presence of the evicting intruders.

She had not received any written notice that the eviction would take place that day, when she had not even been given any such offers of alternative accommodation by Housing Options. Thus CityWestHomes had obviously reneged on an agreement made with Keeda and the group on Monday that they would speak to Housing Options about Keeda's case.

For a little background to this case, see Pregnant mother and her young song face eviction as court judgment goes against them.

Wider debate on London housing

See and hear [via BBC iPlayer debate re London housing on last night's BBC Question Time.

At the 34 mins 18 secs point an audience member cites Croydon MP Richard Ottaway saying that locals who cannot afford to live there should move to Manchester. The audience member raising the question disagrees with her MP. Panel member Peter Hitchens who is a Daily Mail columnist argues that London's housing crisis is caused by a flood of EU immigrants, conveniently ignoring the flood of global billionaire's money into London as a Monopoly game board.

With Christine Blower of the NUT on the panel, the programme starts with an audience member arguing that the teachers' strike over pensions "would hold back children's education." I would argue that for teachers not to strike would hold back children's education.

Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group activists know that actions speak louder than an official body's empty words.