On Tuesday and Wednesday, April 29th and 30, | press were treating the incident. Every single council meetings of the GLC and Camden council were interrupted by demonstrators protesting over the scandalous conditions in Council Buildings, Poplar (referred to in Black Dwarf no. 16).
On Tuesday, the United Tenants Association had organised a coach load of tenants from Releana Road, Poplar, to come and heckle from the public gallery. They sat quietly while the council dealt with minor local issues, such as referred them to welfare; and welfare had facilities. Councillor question from Councillor Walker about the for depths to which bollards are buried in the remove by force. One woman lost her glasses ir your responsibility'. Leaflets were scattered to his mate: "Get that big man first". explaining fully the appalling conditions in Releana Road, and saying what action the tenants had now decided to take. the councillors, who clowned around, out of Stinkbombs were thrown. After only a minute of this, the mayor ordered the gallery to be cleared.
We were then treated to the spectacle of fat, besuited councillors strolling around drinking police are noted for their brutality. coffee and eating caviare canapes, saying such had called from the gallery; whereupon, What only heard "scum", she replied.
Possibly most disturbing of all was the bored and blase way in which both councillors and Our legal correspondent writes:
Camden Council meeting is interrupted by angry tenants. Every time the gallery is cleared by the police. What should be a militant and democratic gesture Is quickly and easily contained by the system. And what of the theory that protesting tenants should go through the proper channels? A member of UTA told us that her organisation had done just this. The result? The housing officer had sent The police arrived after twenty minutes.
Greengross was in the act of answering a They were immediately aggressive, making first the women, whom they attempted to housing policeman's helmet was knocked off into the chamber below, and was picked up by one of sight of the furious tenants; other councillors clamoured to try it on. In the gallery, there was chaos and fighting for twenty minutes. heard from several sources that the King's Cross We waited after the gallery had been cleared things as: 'Of course, they're ruining their own to see what reference, if any, the mayor made case. If only fucking scum", one woman whether this would evoke any response in him they'd go through the proper to these disturbances: or, more important, For the other councillors. But his only reference did she say?' one Councillor asked his wife; ' to the incident was to apologise for their interruption of the meeting, and to resume the discussion of the vital question of bollards.
Janet Ree.
| hand is in a different position. They are a court, Photos: Homer Syke