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From The Socialist newspaper, 28 October 2020
Grenfell watch: landlord's £800,000 saving
Grenfell Tower, photo James Ivens (Click to enlarge)
A director of Grenfell Tower's landlord company told the public inquiry he "had forgotten" about a secret meeting with builders discussing how to shave £800,000 off refurb costs. Lawyers for the landlord even wrote in 2014, cautioning that the builders' bid seemed "abnormally low."
Peter Maddison admitted he didn't ask why the lethal 'aluminium-composite material' cladding was £300,000 cheaper, or whether it complied with fire safety laws. Building contractor Rydon supposedly did not discuss the issue with the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation. There were 72 confirmed deaths in the 2017 inferno.
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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
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In The Socialist 28 October 2020:
What we think
Coronavirus News
Don't let Tories starve our kids
Tory 'Starve a Kid to Save a Quid' scheme
Boots launches £120, 12-minute Covid test
Workplace News
Backing Hugo Pierre for Unison general secretary
Royal Mail: No more behind closed doors talks
Fight Leeds Labour council's massive cuts
News
NHS England's £1bn winter shortfall: we need union action, not platitudes!
BAME Covid deaths due to capitalist inequality, confirms government
Mayor and government compete to attack London transport: fight for no cuts!
Grenfell watch: landlord's £800,000 saving
Food Standards
Food and a capitalist Brexit: No trust in Tory Deals!
International News
"We need a leadership that comes from the movement"
Bolivia elections: Crushing defeat for the right as MAS secures landslide victory
Campaigns
Online youth rally says: We won't pay with our futures
Birmingham: 'Refund our fees' protests
Solidarity with the movement in Nigeria
Evicted students can fight back and win
Waltham Forest Save Our Square:
Bristol jobs protest: We want 100% pay
Readers' Opinion
One rule for them, and another for us
Books that inspired me: Germinal
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2020