Katie Simpson, Northampton Socialist Party
We united to prevent bailiffs changing the locks of the home of a single mother of three on election day. Northampton Socialist Party members, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) supporters, and community activists stood in solidarity.
Despite being placed in the accommodation by Milton Keynes Council, and living in Northampton for nearly a year, neither the Labour council in Milton Keynes, nor the Tory council in West Northants, were willing to take any responsibility for the family.
Privately renting was their only suggestion. Anybody who knows how difficult it is to find a place to rent while working full-time, can imagine how hard it is for a one-parent family reliant on benefits. Try as they did, nobody was willing to offer them accommodation.
Northampton has a chronic housing shortage, despite hundreds of long-term empty properties across town. One neighbour, who stood on the picket with us, told us about multiple properties a stone’s throw away that have been empty for months.
As bailiffs showed up, we linked arms, and denied them access. They used every trick in the book. Intimidation, lying, and even trying to convince us that they were acting in the best interests of the family.
Eventually their shift ended, and they went home. With the prospect of them returning the next day, supporters were back at 6am keeping vigil. But the bailiffs didn’t return.
As the nation celebrated the Tories being evicted from parliament, a family of four celebrated beating eviction. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition stood 40 candidates in the general election, including in Northampton South.
Our election campaign is there to help raise the voice of working-class people fighting back, like this family. The fight for every family to get suitable, genuinely affordable housing continues.
