Housing for People NOT Profit: Greens at MIPIM Protest Today

There were plenty of people from Brent at the developers' MIPIM jamboree at Olympia  today, where deals are hatchd between councils and developers resulting in social cleansing on an epic scale.

Some Labour councils boycotted the fair and others, such as Hammermsith and Fulham, where a stall had been booked by the previous adminstration, used it to make the case for council housing.

Andy Donald from Brent usually takes part, and in fact has been feted by MIPIM.

This morning Gaynor Lloyd from Brent was one of those who spotted Boris Johnson slipping into the Exhibitions.  She emailed me to say

I got to shout at Boris! Saw him scuttling in at the back, being interviewed - appropriately - in a back passage and as he retreated with the odd minders I broke the habits of a lifetime. I shouted "Why didn't you go in at the front?" He looked a lot less puffed up than normal...

Protest Against MIPIM: Housing for People Not For Profit

Andy Donald, Brent's Director of Regeneration and Major projects, has been a delegate to MIPIM at its Cannes meetings where he shared his thinking about development and regeneration - we can see the results of that thinking in Brent today. LINK

This year MIPIM  is coming to London.

The description under this videa reads:

The world’s largest property fair, known as MIPIM, is coming to London for the first time in its 25-year history. Hundreds of property developers, financiers and politicians will be welcomed by the Mayor of London when they converge on Olympia to do deals that allow them to profit from our land and our neighbourhoods.

This is creating unaffordable, insecure housing and contributing to the corporate takeover of our community space and public services. It means big profits for the richest 1% whilst destroying our communities and keeping millions in poverty.

We don't need more luxury housing, office blocks and shopping centres. We don't want our neighbourhoods to be gentrified and entire communities evicted. We want quality genuinely affordable housing and public services for all.

Join affected communities, the Radical Housing Network, the European Action Coalition for the
Right to Housing and the City, trade unions, tenants groups and many others to say ‘Our communities are not for sale!’

London Mayor Boris Johnson will be giving an opening address welcoming the property developers and financiers who have come to profit from our communities.

Green Party Assembly Member for London, Darren Johnson, will be attending the demonstration at 9am.

#BlockBoris

Wednesday 15 October, 9am

Meet outside Kensington Olympia tube, Olympia Way, W14 0NE