Them and us fishes, photo Suzanne Beishon

Them and us fishes, photo Suzanne Beishon   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Mansion butlers…

Establishment politicians are little better than “ushers and butlers to the wealthy” according to new research on the housing crisis.

Researchers at Goldsmiths, Sheffield and York universities blame social cleansing on toadying MPs and councillors

The research makes the obvious point that out-of-reach rental and mortgage costs are due in part to the mansions of the super-rich distorting the market. But it places the blame squarely with the oily politicians who OK it.

…boomerang MP

Meanwhile, the housing crisis is getting so bad that even one Tory MP has moved back in with his parents.

William Wragg, 28, earns £74,000 a year plus expenses. Even so, high rental costs mean he says he can’t afford a deposit for a house while renting. The MP for Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester isn’t alone.

42% of Londoners in their 20s are holding off on starting a family due to high housing costs. And four in five aged between 20 and 29 have thought about moving out of London, according to the survey by Opinium Research.


‘Prevent’ v Badge

Britain’s anti-terror police have saved us again – from the chilling prospect of a school student being allowed to go about wearing a badge.

A school in Bedfordshire referred 17-year-old Rahmann Mohammadi to cops, apparently for sporting a “Free Palestine” badge in class. Rahmann also asked to raise money for Palestinian children and read out pro-Palestine literature.

The referral was part of the government’s ‘Prevent’ scheme. The Socialist has called for opposition to Prevent, which is anti-democratic, divisive and racist. We support workers in Palestine and Israel struggling against occupation, state and individual terrorism, and capitalism.

Read more about fighting Prevent at socialistparty.org.uk, ‘Tories “Prevent” civil liberties’