Join us for a night of history and discussion focused on the rent strikes in 1930s Stepney by the Stepney Tenants Defence League. Happening after the famous Cable St resistance of 1936, we’ll discuss how this community action brought together people to take on the landlord class.
This is also the launch of the first zine by the Hackney Branch of the London Renters Union, that documents this history of the Stepney Renters strike of the 1930s. Copies of the zine, which were printed at House of Annetta, will be available to buy at the event.
About the Stepney Renters Strike
In the years leading up to World War 2, the Stepney Tenants Defence League took part in what was at the time a momentous wave of resistance throughout the UK against exploitative and parasitic landlordism.
After a year and a half of collective action, of refusing to pay rent, of barricades and street fights against the police and fascist thugs, the tenants of stepney achieved improved living conditions, lower rents, and most importantly, rent controls.
Beyond Stepney! What must we do now?
Many of the conditions we face today are a mirror of what the people of Stepney lived through in the 1930s. Rising rents, mold, bad insulation and a rising cost of living has made one of the richest cities in the world borderline unliveable for the average person. 89 years after the Battle of Cable Street, the far-right is once again on the rise and mobilising in our streets.
And yet, the renters of the past have set a revolutionary precedent for the renters of today.
What can we learn from them and how can we fight against the injustices of today?
Come through to find out!!