[Closed] Peaceful Protesters again...

Well that looks scary!

Is that from yesterday?

Looking at that crowd, I'm not sure I'd want to be having them coming at me, waving skateboards and other stuff.
Hardly a 'peaceful protest'.

Angry mob gets bollocking from plod, not sure what the issue is...
?

Can't see any brutality. All I can see is an angry mob far outnumbering the small amount of officers who are trying to defend themselves.

If you saw how much Brixton has changed in terms of house prices over the last 10 years you'd understand why the locals are angry. The prices are through the roof - £500k+ for a 2-bed flat but if you take a walk round the residential streets it's still tatty, still not a wealthy area, just extortionate prices.

It's a lot more white middle class than it used to be. You might argue that's just progress but people who've lived there for years are being forced out as a result and as Brixton has a very strong community, that's not going down too well.

I suspect this is just the beginning of a wider expression of anger - London's currently being ruined from the inside out as workers and owner-managed businesses are being forced out by sky-high rents and house prices... I'm in SE London and know a lot of people around Brixton, Camberwell, Crystal Palace - mainly white middle class professionals with good jobs and pretty much everyone thinks London's getting ruined. Most people I know who want to buy have moved out - Surrey, Hertfordshire, Essex, Bath etc, even Abu Dhabi!... there'll be no-one left to do the work if this carries on... and with that will go the economy

More police brutality from London this weekend

Did you post the wrong video by accident ?

Didn't see any police brutality in that clip at all.

brooess - Member
If you saw how much Brixton has changed in terms of house prices over the last 10 years you'd understand why the locals are angry

There is a big difference between use of CS spray and 'tear gas". The latter would be national headline news if used by a UK police force (but is no uncommon in other countries).

there'll be no-one left to do the work if this carries on... and with that will go the economy

[quote=nealglover ]

More police brutality from London this weekend

Angry mob attacks police station, Police defend police station and repel protestors.

What exactly did they think would happen??

What exactly did they think would happen??

Apparently, they thought that Foxtons would immediately close down, and that they could all live in nice big houses for £2 a year, which would allow them all more time to curate their blogs, or something.

The compassion of the wealthy for the needy there FLashy
As charming as it is humanitarian

I assumed the OP was [s]being ironic[/s] masturbating when he saw the police charge out from under the doors.

If you saw how much Brixton has changed in terms of house prices over the last 10 years you'd understand why the locals are angry. The prices are through the roof - £500k+ for a 2-bed flat but if you take a walk round the residential streets it's still tatty, still not a wealthy area, just extortionate prices.

If I'd bought a flat there 10 years ago, and it's now worth £500k+ I'd be ****ing ecstatic.

**** me I'd probably sell up, move to Ecuador and never work again.

From the title, I was expecting something a bit more like this:

...but it is always annoying when the law and the people end up clashing over the actions of the rich.

Aw, diddums Darcy, are you all upset because your leftie heroes attempt at a revolution failed at the first hurdle 😆

I'd also assume the OP was being ironic or trolling.

[b]Based on that short clip alone[/b], I thought the police handled that amazingly well. I often think the police act atrociously, but that seemed like an excellent response to me.
They are getting besieged by a mob of angry people, they try to keep them out bodily, that fails, they escalate force slightly and stop the mob from getting into the building. And as the mob falls back they stop and hold a line.
What's not to like?

I emphasise, based on that clip alone.

My main reaction to that is that it's impossible to take anyone in a bike helmet and high viz seriously.

Either they'll have to pay more to get employees or they'll move out of the city

Apparently, they thought that Foxtons would immediately close down,

The downside of course is as the London money moves elsewhere it jacks up house prices for everyone else, who're still on local salaries... which is a bit of a lose/lose rather than a win. Again, I think this has already begun.

C'mon! I was looking for something like this ...

[img] [/img]

What a disappointment ... 😮

FFS! At least use pepper spray or cattle prod for a bit of fun.

As for the protestors they can use the testudo formation to move forward ... 🙄 Like this.

[img] [/img]

You can see brutality from the "peaceful protestors". Cops did a good job

*** me I'd probably sell up, move to Ecuador and never work again.

Dont disagree with you there fella

Brixton police station well-known as a haven of the moderate and reluctant use of force.

konabunny - Member

Brixton police station well-known as a haven of the moderate and reluctant use of force.

That's because they are afraid of being labelled as the 'Rodney King' police force. 😆

One wrong move/stick from the police will spark race riot there again. 😛

you appear to be arguing that the best way to avoid London-like problems in "the regions" is for London to hold onto all the well paid jobs and people. Have you thought this through?

That's not at all what I mean. Simply, if you jack London house prices up so high that people move out of London, then it spreads the problem throughout the country, which means London loses and so does the rest of the country. Which is stupid policy. For e.g. with working from home and mobile working becoming acceptable, and improved rail connections you have people like a couple of my colleagues who've moved to Bath - but they will work from home, combined with a commute to London 2-3 days a week i.e. retaining London salaries, able to pay far more than Bath locals for their house, which pushes up prices and makes housing unaffordable for local people in Bath on regional salaries. Current data shows London house prices static/falling whilst the SE goes up which suggests this is a broader trend.

Worth noting that local Brixton businesses are also getting priced out of the area: this is not really about house prices, it's about wrecking a community and it's about local business and people's jobs...

Employees from Brixton Cycles, a worker owned bike shop that has been in Brixton for over 30 years, were also at the demonstration. Their current premises are being demolished and the rising house prices mean they will likely be forced to leave the area.

I know the people who run BC and it's horrible seeing such hardworking, passionate and fundamentally nice people having 30 years' of entrepreneurialism destroyed... and really not a good sign for the future of London, which as mentioned up there, is supposed to be a centre of capitalism!

On the whole it was a pretty peaceful protest. When you see the police only defending the landlords and the rich, I can understand why anger is directed at them. They stand by if squatters are violently evicted. My local pub closed because of gentrification now Brixton cycles is being pushed out. It's too much.

I was brought up not far from Brixton in Clapham Park, I worked on a refurb job on a doctor's surgery on Brixton Hill about 5 years ago and was genuinely shocked with how up market it had become - I had no idea.

The same has happened to Balham and Battersea, house prices there are now way above what people on average wages can afford - well over £1million for a very average victorian terrace house. Lower income people have been pushed out to Streatham and Norbury which have both gone considerably down market when they were previously fairly affluent middle-class areas.

I don't know anything about the protest movement their demands or what they hope to achieve, but I do know that Brixton has sense of community which Balham and Battersea never had so I'm not entirely surprised that there is a resistance which didn't exist in Balham or Battersea.

I'm actually working in Brixton at the moment on an estate which was built in 1929. Outside the flats look quite scruffy but the flat I'm working on is owned by someone who works for the UN and is clearly not short of cash. But although I haven't worked on any other flats on this estate it's very clear that some are occupied by people on quite low incomes, poor blacks to be more precise. There's police notices in the stairwells warning of arrests for drug taking that you would expect in a deprived area.

I'm not surprised that these conflicting demographics and income levels living cheek by jowl and on top of each other has led to conflict and tension. Not being involved in that area I don't know what the solutions are or what the demands should be.

Sad to hear about Brixton Cycles, a unique and very worthwhile venture imo, but I've only been in there a couple of times due to the distance from me that it represents. However if they relocate further south to Streatham or Norbury (which would be bad news for De Ver Cycles) that might change 🙂

That's already begun. Even the City are saying they can't afford to pay the salaries people need to live in London...Deutsche Bank are moving 3,000 people to Birmingham and HSBC moving 1,000. In that respect market forces will sort things out... the GDP will move elsewhere in the UK - which on balance is a good thing...

I was speaking to my brother over christmas as he works in the SE (3 days was enough to put me off) saying how jobs would be getting out sourced etc. I rather foolishly suggested that if they offered London wages in Newcastle/Manchester/Leeds etc. they could attract a high caliber of applicants and plenty would move. His response - no way, people won't leave the SE. Beds Made, lie in them.

Things like getting chunks of the beeb out of London and a few other big companies might just help things stabalise a bit.

Deutsche Bank are moving 3,000 people to Birmingham and HSBC moving 1,000

This has been happening for at least 10 years. I know people who made that move. They more or less kept the same salary but in Brum.

You are Julian Assange and I demand you wear a condom

Arguably this thread's finest moment.

Very sad to hear about Brixton Cycles. 🙁

Dont disagree with you there fella

This would do me, you get a tractor too going by the pics

http://vivatropical.com/property/listing/14225/

Sweet

Sweet singletrack with Mountains in the distance

Tractor looks better than swimming pool

If you ever need a Butler 😉

The prices are through the roof - £500k+ for a 2-bed flat but if you take a walk round the residential streets it's still tatty, still not a wealthy area, just extortionate prices.

My parents and grandparents lived in Balham for 60 years. It was always a good location transport wise.

On the original video an unruley mob came looking for trouble found it

On DB/HSBC yes this has been going on for years and I too know people who have made the move. Total compensation is lower but those who have made the move are happy that overall they are better off. Downside is far less employment flexibility (fewer potential employers) and the commute by car is terrible.

Very sad to hear about Brixton Cycles.

Yes and it's perhaps worth recalling in light of Z-11's smartarse comment : [i]"Aw, diddums Darcy, are you all upset because your leftie heroes attempt at a revolution failed at the first hurdle"[/i] how Brixton Cycles benefited from the attention, investment, and grants, which came as the result of the Brixton Riots over 30 years ago.

[b][i]"So they decided in a fit of alcohol fuelled brilliance to set up their own bike shop to cater for the kind of people who wanted to ride a bike as a serious transport alternative or just for fun.

Back then Britain was in the grips of recession, Thatcher had just been re-elected on the Falklands war ticket, the inner cities had seen rioting and things were looking grim.

Fortunately, London was run by Red Ken (the first time around) and grants were available for people starting co-ops. Brixton had seen the worst of the rioting of 1981 and was pretty run down, so it's fitting that it was here that our friends decided to open shop. And so in 1983 Brixton Cycles started up.

These were lean times and Coldharbour Lane could sometimes be an "interesting" place. During those first years wages were low, but there were plenty of friends willing to lend a hand and an abundance of squats in Lambeth kept the workers housed and the shop in business". [/b][/i]

http://www.brixtoncycles.co.uk/history

^^ sometimes it's easy, after 15+ years of rising living standards (albeit on a tidal wave of debt) that 70's and early 80's Britain was pretty grim for a lot of people...
BC of course were one of those groups making it better, which is why it's so stupid to let their hard work go to waste, they're a great example for others to follow

So I would imagine those locals who can sell their houses for £400k tax free profit must be quite happy, no ?

Are you serious?

First you assume that everyone owns their home.
Then you assume they could easily find another job if they moved.
Then you completely disregard the community aspect, assuming everyone would be happy to leave their friends, families and neighbours behind.

You really are clueless aren't you?

ernie_lynch - Member

Could you please tell me Tooting is still a dump. I lived there over 25 years ago for 7 years.

See Ernie - just look at how much better the place has got since they disbanded the GLC!

Or would you prefer the wages were still low and the workers forced to live in squats?

Well duckman from Tooting Bec to Tooting Broadway nothing much has changed imo, it hasn't gone up market or become gentrified. But the Wandsworth Common end of Tooting certainly has, it's all part of that South London gentrification.

[i]"Between the Commons"[/i] I believe is the selling point which the estate agents push. In this case between the commons means properties around Wandsworth Common, Tooting Bec Common, and Clapham Common, all highly desirable.

I remember a time during the early gentrification of South London when Battersea was referred to, amusingly and quite inaccurately, as "South Chelsea", even though it wasn't even on the same side of the river ffs. But I think Battersea is now considered posh enough to be called by it's correct name.

Odd that the claimed point of this (ie. locals being priced out of housing) is going on in many rural communities but the locals there don't seem to be attacking the local police station over it.

That's because the rural police stations have all been closed down and sold off for housing 😀

Because all the local Police stations have been closed and sold off.

But I think Battersea is now considered posh enough to be called by it's correct name.