Feature: St Pancras rent strike

Published: 7 October, 2010
by DAN CARRIER

THE roots of the conflict stemmed from a crisis in housing in Camden that is sadly recognisable today. Waiting lists were long and there was an urgent need for new homes to be built. But Tory governments had squeezed resources for council housing, while at the same time unfettered rises in land values in London and the spectre of property developers had made it even harder for councils to find the cash to build much-needed new homes. 

In 1958, it was clear that the St Pancras council’s housing policy – which saw them  buy land and build new homes whilst still keeping rents manageable – would  bring them into conflict with the Conservative central government. 

This was underlined by the election of John Lawrence as the leader of the Labour group, a left-winger determined to defend the rights of working people. He was described by the St Pancras Chronicle as “...a born leader and idealist with a charm and sincerity which have caused revolution in lesser countries than our own.”

However, in May 1959 the Tories won control of the council under leader Paul Prior, who held social housing in contempt: he wanted to tackle a £300,000 deficit in the council’s housing fund and said he’d do it by raising rents. 

His councillors worked out a complicated formula which included a means test, and while the new scale of charges would see a few people receive deductions, the reason for the review was to raise money, by pushing up the rents.

A campaign against the new rents snowballed. By January 1960 more than 1,000 of the borough’s 7,821 tenants were refusing to pay their increases; in many cases rents had been doubled and in some cases trebled. In June 1960 eviction notices were issued by a reluctant judge who observed: ”Many tenants will find it extremely difficult to pay higher rents.”

A further 2,000 tenants joined the strike in protest. Then, in September 1960 – less than a month after eviction notices expired – Don Cook and Arthur Rowe were evicted from their homes.