Press kit for the PHOTO OP with VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, MARK THOMAS, KATE HOEY MP and MAGGI HAMBLING
1. Calling notice
2. Coverage
3. Photos
1. Reminder notice: Stop selling social housing in Lambeth! PHOTO OP with VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, MARK THOMAS, KATE HOEY MP and MAGGI HAMBLING Wednesday 5th March, 11am 22 Lillieshall Road, London SW4 On Wednesday 5th March Lambeth residents and campaigners, including designer and activist Vivienne Westwood, comedian and activist Mark Thomas, artist Maggi Hambling and Kate Hoey MP, will meet in Lillieshall Road, London SW4 to protest against Lambeth Council’s sale of long-standing housing co-operatives. All those gathered for this photo op have pledged to defend residents of these housing co-ops against evictions, and have stated: We will stand with housing co-op residents when they refuse to leave their home, if Lambeth go through with their threat to send bailiffs to evict them. What is happening in Lambeth? Lambeth’s so-called ‘co-operative’ council is evicting members of housing co-operatives who have lived in the borough for periods of up to 40 years, with some residents in their 70s who have lived in their homes since the 1970s. This community purge is also a triple whammy for housing with social housing stock sold off, more people added to the waiting list and no new housing built as a result. Case study – Maritza Tschepp Maritza Tschepp and her family have lived in their home for 33 years. Their house was among those compulsory purchased by Lambeth for demolition for a couple of thousand pounds in the 1970s and left to rot. The council allowed ‘shortlife’ co-ops to be set up, run by the people like Maritza who were occupying and maintaining the houses. But Lambeth are now destroying these co-ops and selling off the properties with no acknowledgement of the blood, sweat and tears of the ‘short lifers’, who saved these homes from dereliction. Maritza has also invested in her community, setting up a local youth group and running it as an unpaid volunteer for over 20 years, but Lambeth has shown no concern about keeping people in homes and communities where they have lived and worked for so long. At a time when waiting lists are at record levels it is a crime for Lambeth to sell social housing. Pledge your support to stop the evictions by contacting: Lambeth United Housing Co-operative lambethunitedhousingco-op.org.uk Twitter: @LUHousingCoop facebook.com/LambethUnited Petition: http://chn.ge/16PkKwv 07810 486658 2. Coverage: BBC London News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26459041 BBC London 94.9 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01sgx31 – 1hr 08 mins in South London Press available here: http://www.lambethunitedhousingco-op.org.uk/?page_id=852 Local Guardian: http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/11054857.VIDEO__Vivienne_Westwood_joins_protest_against_housing_sell_off_in_Clapham/?ref=var_0 This is Local London: http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/NEWS/11054857.VIDEO__Vivienne_Westwood_joins_protest_against_housing_sell_off_in_Clapham/ Morning Star:Morning Star Article 2014-03-06 Morning Star Article 2014-03-06 Some of the fashion pages picked up on the story, inevitably with a different angle: The Telegraph: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/news-features/TMG10681391/Vivienne-Westwood-cut-off-her-hair-to-promote-climate-change.html Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2574880/Dame-Vivienne-Westwood-reveals-new-short-grey-crop-shes-proud-age-housing-protest.html The Express: http://www.express.co.uk/news/showbiz/463586/Vivienne-Westwood-supports-climate-change-with-shaved-head 3. Photos available from: http://www.demotix.com/photo/4102681/celebrity-protest-housing-co-operative-lambeth-more-houses-go http://lucaneve.photoshelter.com/gallery/05-03-2014-Demo-in-Support-of-Evicted-Housing-Co-operative-in-Lambeth/G000096_Im34omtA/C0000GPpTqAGd2Gg http://tinyurl.com/pfrpmy9
Why. Don’t you run candidates in the local elections in May ? We can register a strap line with the Election Commission for you.
Reg Leach
Lewisham People Before Profit