Hackney Council betrays residents (again)

Hackney Council has once again betrayed the residents of Marcon Court, an 81-home estate in the centre of the borough.

First, it leaves the estate to rot for twenty years. Then it promises Major Repairs, only to confess that this was a lie. Now, it says that nothing will be done for three years.
One thing you can be sure of. The Council's political leaders and senior managers would not allow their homes to be treated like this. But then, senior Council managers don't live on Hackney Council estates.

Why is this happening? Basically, because the Council does not care about working-class communities. The Council lurches from crisis to crisis, caused by Government underfunding and the Council's policy of privatising services or giving them to 'arms-length' administrators.

Even though local working-class people have not caused the crisis, the Council makes us pay for it - through cuts in services, ever-higher Council Tax, and letting our estates degenerate. The private companies still make their profits, and Max Caller still gets his £150,000 salary, but we get … treated with contempt.

What should we do about it? The community needs to fight back. The Tenants & Residents' Association is putting up a good fight for the future of the estate, and the local Workers' Liberty branch is doing our bit to help the TRA with its campaign. The more residents get involved, the stronger this fight will be.

We also need a political response. The Labour Party was set up to represent the interests of working-class people. But these days, most Labour Councillors are more interested in sucking up to business and claiming ample expenses.

Genuine socialists support communities fighting for a better deal. We try to work out why this situation exists and what the political solution is. That's what Workers' Liberty does. If you are interested in finding out more, then contact us. We'd love to hear from you.