Them & Us


#PrivetDrive

Renters were appalled – but not shocked – by a supposed London room listing on 30 September.

Twitter user Alex Lomax shared pics of a duvet and pillow spread in an under-stairs cupboard. The stated cost? A mere £500 a month.

It now seems this could have been a shrewd PR stunt rather than a real rental. But either way, it struck a chord with private tenants, especially in London.

Sheds, closets and hammocks in communal rooms are all real manifestations of the housing crisis. Meanwhile, ultra-capitalist tabloid City AM reports super-rich finance workers think nothing of £50,000-plus deposits for luxury London rentals.

Democracy hypocrisy

Conservatives refuse to let unions ballot members for strikes online, while also demanding higher turnouts. Prime Minister David Cameron says electronic voting is not “safe from fraud”.

But apparently it’s good enough for the Tories themselves. Their London mayoral candidate, tax dodger Zac Goldsmith, was selected by an online ballot!

Jamaican jail insult

Workers in Jamaica are fuming after an outrageous offer made to the former British colony by David Cameron. He plans to boost the country’s infrastructure – by building it a jail to house Jamaicans convicted in Britain.

One caller interviewed on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire rightly declared this an “insult”. He said the pitiful £25 million offered should at least be used for schools and hospitals.

British capitalists have spent centuries exploiting Jamaica for slaves and cheap labour.