A good example of what will happen if the Tories are returned to power is provided by the Greater London Council. Almost by instinct a Tory's first impulse when the chance arises is to hit at the workers. In London in addition there is an old score to settle. It is the working class voters of London, and especially the tenants of council estates who have kept the Tories in the political wilderness since the 1930's. Now, thanks to the gerrymandered constituencies of the Greater London Government Act, and the shocking record of [illegible] turning their guns, first of all, against that section of the working class who they think they have in their power: the council tenants. Vicious rent increases will add an average of 7/6 to the budget of the council estate householder. THIS REPRESENTS AN INCREASE OF 16%, and even overrides the recommendation of the Prices and Incomes [illegible] What is the Government doing about this? When the workers have won a grudgingly given increase, the Government has not hesitated to use its power to clamp on a freeze. Wage increases, it insists, must be linked to productivity agreements. But what of the G.L.C. rents? Does the same criteria apply? Not on your life! The tenants are not going to get better maintenance and service for their increased rents. On the contrary! A large part of the cost of internal repairs, hitherto a charge on the council must now be met by the tenants.
By the action of the Tory G.L.C. the whole principle on which municipal housing is based is thrown overboard. This is that housing is a social service the cost of which must be born by the community as a whole. London's Tories want the "better off" tenants to subsidise those not so well-off - though many of them are living on [illegible] the Tory point of view this is not only good economics but it also helps divide the working class. Inevitably there will be bitterness on the part of the tenants paying the higher rents against those receiving rent rebates at their expense. It also divides the workers on the council estates from those living in privately rented houses to whom the Tories will say - "our policy will mean lower rates," forgetting to add that the private landlord will not be slow to follow the G.L.C.'s example and put up the rents as soon [illegible].
Tony Greenwood, as Minister for Housing, must intervene immediately and veto the rent increase. Just for once let the Prices and Incomes policy be shown to work for the workers and not against them. But the tenants will not wait for hypothetical action from Whitehall. They are organising to resist the rent increases. In this they must have the full backing of the whole labour movement for as stated in the opening paragraph of this article the G.L.C. action is only a fore-taste of what the Tories have in store, for all of us when they get back to power.