Fire and Brimstone House.

We all remember the “Focus E15 Mothers’” Campaign during the 2014-2018 Council, particularly the occupation by the Campaign of a void on the Carpenters Estate. 

“On September 21st 2014, Focus E15 campaign celebrated its first birthday with an occupation of a disused block of flats on the nearly empty Carpenters Estate in Stratford, East London. This action draws attention to the fact that people are being forced out of London due to a lack of affordable housing …”

Of particular note was the support given to the Campaign by the "two John's", Cllrs John Whitworth and John Gray, who visited the squatted property. Their intervention did not impress the “mothers” nor the members of the RCP who were in occupation with them.

It is an outrageous piece of gender-libel, the twosome were told to go and "grow a pair" and oppose the Labour Council policy more vigorously.  The two councillors who were there to show their solidarity were told to go away. 

They might not have been successful in influencing the policy of the 2014-18 council, but they were instrumental in effecting a change of candidate for mayor, an objective they shared with the Focus E15 campaigners.

As Oscar Wilde quipped, “when the gods want to punish us, they answer our prayers”.

Gray, in particular, has had reason to rue his support for Fiaz. Offered high office, he was dumped when Fiaz thought it expedient. It is understood that relationships between the two have been strained ever since. Whitworth fared better, in the first term, when ideological Corbynistas were left out in the cold, it seemed that Whitworth was to be left on the shelf. But he’s now back with a deputy executive position.

It must be one of the ironies of the campaign, that it began as a protest against evictions from The Foyer/Brimstone House. It is now a protest that people are being housed in Brimstone House, (which is often referred to by a third name now, of Victoria St).

It does seem that Newham are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

And whilst we are loathe to offer any comfort to Newham Council as it is presently run, the demands to simply produce new homes for 30,000 families on the waiting list and for all of these homes to be in Newham does rather sound like a wish list from a bunch of Trots which bears no relationship to reality.

Every now-and-again the protesters would turn up at a council meeting or event, to be cheered on or tacitly supported by one or more of the anti-Wales faction.

But now it seems the tables have turned. At the Newham Council AGM in May there was a protest by residents of Victoria St.

They were no longer complaining about evictions, but rather that the council, and the mayor in particular, had not delivered on her commitment, indeed promise, to move all residents to more suitable accommodation. 

Observant readers will note while Cllr "Shabs" Mohammed was originally tasked with delivering on the Mayor's somewhat ambitious promise, portfolio changes have meant that as a Housing Needs issue Cllr Carlene Lee-Phakoe is now responsible. She appears to have been handed a poison chalice. 

Another change is that those councillors who supported the protesters back in the twen-teens are no longer so vociferous in their support. 

When Wales was in office, Cllr Gray was joining forces with the protesters. No longer it seems. He dismissed the recent protest at the AGM as "the obligatory shouty protest". That’s it. Four words. 

Is there any wonder that residents become cynical of politicians when they change their spots so completely.

As to the future of Victoria St. There are some options, but none seem to be politically acceptable.

1)Relet it as temporary accommodation? Hardly, they’re trying to decant it.

2)Relet it as permanent accommodation. Possible. It would need substantial refurbishment and it is not clear who it would be for or where the money would come from. It might even count as part of the mayor’s new-build but would be vulnerable to future Right to Buy sales. 

3) Sell to a private developer and use "Populo" to spend the capital receipt on new-build properties. And here would be the ultimate irony, the buyer could simply lease out it as...err, temporary accommodation to err, Newham Council.