The Labour dominated Hammersmith Council was recently in the news when it was suggested by a Conservative Alderman that it was under extreme Left Wing control, Not only did the ghost of Stalin stalk the corridors but there were said to be six Trotskyists in the Council Chamber, The suggestion that. there was Left Wing control brought loud and raucous laughter from those militants in Hammersmith who have fought for many years against the power-hungry clique which controls Hammersmith's affairs. Recently a determined attempt was made to smash the opposition and calls were made for expulsion of many leading militants in the local Labour Parties. The Left Wing fought. back with equal determination and following a Transport House enquiry presided over by none other than Miss Sara Barker, four of the local Party officers were severely reprimanded, One of the complaints levelled against the accused was that they had opposed the Council's housing and rents policy, The Hammersmith Council's problems are again in the news. It has been revealed by the local newspaper that three well equipped maisonettes on a Council estate have been unoccupied for periods ranging from two to five months, Two of the maisonettes have four bedrooms, plus all modern conveniences. The rent, inclusive of rates, amounts to £11.4.2. a week. The other, with three bedrooms, is rented at £9.14.6. Not surprisingly, the Council has had difficulty finding applicants from its housing list and has had to offer the tenancies to those not on the waiting list. ° The maisonettes are at Mylne Close, a small luxury estate on the Thames in the exclusive Upper Mall area, They were erected by the Old Metropolitan Borough Council who apparently felt that it would be better not to mix working class families with those whose wealth allows them the right to occupy this very pleasant area of the Borough. Hammersmith has at present 4,956 families on the housing waiting list. They must surely appreciate the irony of the situation!
eee HEHE H HH