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More police brutality from London this weekend
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.
What were they trying to get a bed for the night in the cells? Because I can't see otherwise how you correlate anger at increasing house prices with what appears to be trying to force your way into a police station.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).
London is the heart of UK capitalism so market forces should sort that out! Either they'll have to pay more to get employees or they'll move out of the city. I'm struggling to see how either is bad for the UK economy.there'll be no-one left to do the work if this carries on... and with that will go the economy
[quote=nealglover ]
Did you post the wrong video by accident ? I assumed the OP was being ironicMore 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
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...
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.
Foxtons shares were 400p in March 2014, now 200p so there's more than a few people expecting something similar, to be fair...Apparently, they thought that Foxtons would immediately close down,
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?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.
You are Julian Assange and I demand you wear a condom
Dont disagree with you there fella
Brixton police station well-known as a haven of the moderate and reluctant use of force.
konabunny - MemberBrixton 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.
So I would imagine those locals who can sell their houses for £400k tax free profit must be quite happy, no ?
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.
Indeed it is.
I grew up in Tooting, certainly wasn't gentrified and is still quite run down. Balham much more so now, my grandparents and parents used to live there. A 5 bedroom house cost £1,500 in 1960's but that was when people where earning £300-400 pa and getting a mortgage was very difficult.
Lots of people are profiting from London prices.
The people who sold the houses in the first place and everyone since.
Balham much more so now, my grandparents and parents used to live there. A 5 bedroom house cost £1,500 in 1960's
I don't believe that. Not for a large 5 bedroom town house, more like £7-10k.
I remember Brixton as a being alittle scary and a shithole. Those 'Reclaim' folk- why cover/mask your face if its peaceful and why were businesses damaged and people terrorised?
Instead of spending their daytime attacking businesses why not search for a vocation? 😀
I lived across from Amen Corner in Tooting,drank in the pub across from the overland station. Wandsworth bitter...Drove me to the Guinness. Just streetviewed it and the only thing that is still there that I recognise is the Samaraj Indian food place and the cafe on Amen corner. Some git has even painted my old front door.Even the mental Irish pub where patrons were invited to stand for the singing of the soldier's song looks like it has gone up market. Still plenty 99p stores and empty units though,so hasn't changed totally.
I drive through Amen Corner sometimes and I wouldn't say that it's changed much.
Some git has even painted my old front door.
Hey it's amazing what happens over 25 years.
Talking of 'mental Irish pub' did you ever at drink Guinness in the Irish club in St Boniface church ? There's not much of an Irish community in South London these days, only second generation, most have gone back home or died 🙁
Hell yes,I was sent on agency work to Neasden hospital in the early 90's when I first went down. I got on well with them and they were all connected and pretty much kept me in work for the next 7 years. Some of the places they knew you could get a drink in were just amazing. And churches with their own bars;whats that about? I was at a wedding reception in Bonys once, and was no stranger to the crap snooker table either.Thats actually a lie,I was no stranger to the signing in to the snooker-so-I-could-drink.I'm rubbish at snooker or pool.
I thought all the pubs in Tooting used to finish the night with The Soldiers Song. I have also drunk in St. Boniface's bit like being in an old biddies pub iirc
£1.40 a pint...Used to end up there when I really didn't need any more drink,cheap or not. Ah Tooting/London...Great to live in my early 20's, almost as good to visit in my late 40's.
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.
I get this, and the subsequent posts arguing about the details. What I can't find anywhere is an explanation as to how anyone thinks that the way to address it is by attacking a police station? You can blame plod for a lot of things but I'm struggling to contrive a way to hold them responsible for property prices?
What else do you do? - when government policy from both Labour and Tories for the last 15+ years has priced you out of the community you live in... it's not rational or thought through - just anger and frustration about not being able to do anything about your community being wrecked.
FWIW my landlord lives in Brixton, has a house worth far more than when he bought it, and is also a good friend of mine. He's selling my flat (not Brixton but still SE London) and he won't use Foxtons... 'they overprice' was his comment - ie: they do a lot of damage to the community by pricing out the people born and bred in the area...
it's not rational or thought through - just anger and frustration about not being able to do anything about your community being wrecked.
It's also possible that those trying to storm the police station were not frustrated locals but the usual suspect 'class war Warriors' that seem to turn up at all sorts of protests intent on violence against the police.
he won't use Foxtons... 'they overprice' was his comment - ie: they do a lot of damage to the community by pricing out the people born and bred in the area...
Unless Foxtons are actually buying properties themselves then that's cobblers, isn't it? The market price of a property is what someone is willing to pay for it.
ninfan - MemberIt's also possible that those trying to storm the police station were not frustrated locals but the usual suspect 'class war Warriors' that seem to turn up at all sorts of protests intent on violence against the police.
You don't think local people are frustrated, angry or that bothered, or would do such a thing, why? What is it about people in Brixton that makes them take a placid attitude to the police and those in authority?
The truth Z-11 is that usual right-wing suspects like yourself always want to dismiss the grievances that people have by suggesting that those who protest don't actually have any grievances, and that those are are suppose to have are perfectly happy.
It's a very old and very predictable right-wing ploy.
edlong - MemberI get this, and the subsequent posts arguing about the details. What I can't find anywhere is an explanation as to how anyone thinks that the way to address it is by attacking a police station? You can blame plod for a lot of things but I'm struggling to contrive a way to hold them responsible for property prices?
Any violence is bad (although no one knows the details beyond what appears to be happening in a posted clip) and no one should condone it. Obviously.
But that said do you honestly think that anyone would be discussing the serious issues confronting the residents of Brixton if no one had drawn attention to it by breaking a few windows ?
Do you honestly think that Z-11 would have posted a thread about the housing situation and unaffordable property prices for ordinary people in Brixton had a totally peaceful protest occurred, the bleeding heart that he is ?
A few more people are aware of the anger, frustration, and genuine grievances, which residents of Brixton feel, and how the situation affects businesses such as Brixton Cycles, including yourself who now "gets it", because some windows were smashed and there was a bit of a ruck with the old bill.
I agree that violence and lawless should not be the vehicle for change but along with the condemnations there should be suggestions to how the voices of ordinary people can be heard.
Earlier in the thread konabunny made the comment [i]"Brixton police station well-known as a haven of the moderate and reluctant use of force".[/i] I was going to respond but decided in the end not to. Because what konabunny said wasn't entirely true.
Yes the Met and in particular Brixton Division have a history of very poor community policing, heavy handedness, discrimination, and darn right brutality, but that history is based on the situation over 30 years ago. The Brixton Riots and the subsequent Scarman report, which to her credit Thatcher instigated, changed that. And changed it very significantly.
The sad truth that what had been happening in Brixon for many many years in terms of policing did not change until the Brixton Riots occurred.
And worthwhile projects such as Brixton Cycles were also a response to those riots.
Change should always come through peaceful means but sometimes when those with authority and power are deaf to genuine grievances or refuse to take them seriously or respond in a meaningful way, people are given very few alternatives other than to take things up a notch or two.