ROAMING THE RATES REBELLION

Stop 1 - The Museum of London Docklands

“Nobody lives in Poplar who can afford to live anywhere else. It goes without saying that owners of industrial and house property live somewhere else. Even the worker, as soon as his wages permit, lives somewhere else.” - George Lansbury, speaking about Poplar

You are standing outside the Museum of London Docklands, deep in the heart of Tower Hamlets. The building itself is an old sugar warehouse, built in 1802 during the expansion of the docks. Turning around, you can see only a tiny patch of water, the rest blocked out by the towering skyscrapers of nearby . But imagine what this looked like 100 years ago - a noisy, industrial, open series of interconnected docks, laced with criss-crossing railway lines, packed with cargo and machinery and teeming with boats and workers. This area used to be the epicentre of industry in the borough, key to the understanding of the rebellious nature of its citizens and leaders.

Tower Hamlets was only established as a borough in 1965 - before that, the area you were standing in was known as Poplar. Poplar was formed in 1907, taking its name from the native trees Poplar canescens and Populus nigra. By the 1920s, it was the poorest borough in London. The inhabitants depended on the docks and railways to provide employment - in 1921, 26% of men in the borough worked in transport. Employment was also provided by the sweatshops, factories and workshops that crowded the area. But these jobs were scarce, badly paid and relied on casual labour contracts, leading to mass poverty, overcrowding in low-rent properties and uninhabitable living conditions. To make matters worse, the post-war slump in trade hit the dock workers hard, causing mass unemployment in the early 1920s. Of the 160,000 people living in Poplar, almost a quarter were unemployed during this period.

It was against this backdrop that seismic shifts in the politics of the area would lead to an extraordinary uprising, and a battle for the welfare of the borough. We’re about to learn more, but in the meantime, you can pop in to the museum to read about the history of the docklands, or walk round Canary Wharf, an emblem of greed and wealth beyond the wildest imaginings of the old dockworkers. When you are ready, with the river behind you, head back around the museum and to your right and follow the map to the next stop. Stop 2 - Hale Street Mural

“I thought I should always be in opposition and fighting a forlorn hope. But something like a miracle has happened, and here I am!” - George Lansbury, speaking at his first council meeting in 1919

You are standing on Hale Street, in front of the Tower Hamlets parks department, on the wall of which is painted a mural by local artist Mark Francis. It was painted in 1990, and commemorates the extraordinary event we are going to unfold on this walk - the . The mural lists the names of those involved, the men and women who served on Poplar Council in 1921. And in the centre, you can see a slightly wonky depiction of a man in a bowler hat. This is George Lansbury, a remarkable campaigner who instigated and led the rebellion.

George Lansbury was a passionate and inspirational man, and in 1919, where we begin our story, was already a well-known and formidable politician. He was a pacifist and socialist, a past editor of a national newspaper and a future leader of the Labour Party. He was also the newly-elected mayor of Poplar council, appointed after a dramatic change of government in the borough.

Prior to WW1, most Poplar councillors came from Poplar’s small middle class. They were always Conservative or Independent, often living outside the borough but with a registered business address in Poplar. Sometimes they were sponsored by large businesses. This was the case with councils all over London - the leaders rarely represented the views or interests of local people. During this time, the Labour Party were viewed as erratic and inefficient troublemakers, so when Labour were elected to lead Poplar borough in 1919, winning 39 of the 42 seats on the council, even they couldn’t believe it.

George Lansbury was elected mayor, leading a group of councillors who were unusual in their makeup - they consisted of industrial workers, postmen, labourers and housewives. The desperate conditions in Poplar had caused the people to vote for representation that understood them and would fight for their interests. The first council meeting was packed with constituents, who cheered when Lansbury entered, and celebrated in the streets with a Irish marching band when the meeting was over.

The council immediately started to make changes in the borough, expanding public services, health provisions and housing. They even gave council employees a minimum wage of £4 a week, with equal pay for men and women. But no one yet realised how militant the council were willing to be to protect the interests of their constituents. As you make your way down Poplar High Street to the next stop to hear what caused the councillors to revolt, why not ponder the local government in your area? Do they fight for your communities and interests, and what would it take for them to put everything on the line for their constituents? Stop 3 - Tower Hamlets Council

“Keep steadily in your minds that everybody whether rich or poor that gets something without themselves working, get it at the expense of those who do work.” - Written by labour councillors of Poplar in a letter to local school children in 1921

You are now standing outside the Tower Hamlets Town Hall in Mulberry Place. There are nods to history here - as you can see from the water behind you, the area also used to be docklands, and if you look to your right, you can see a steel sculpture by David King called Shadowplay, memorialising the past working life of the site. It is here that you pay your council tax, parking fines and business rates, where bin collections are organised, where parks are maintained, where local schools managed - in short, your council building will run the minutiae of life in your area, and will directly influence the quality of services and provisions available to you.

So it is now, and so it was in 1921. Poplar had elected a new mayor, Sam March, and George Lansbury remained an influential councillor. The council had been battling for a better quality of life for their residents. But they were facing an extraordinary problem, brought about by several arcane tax laws weighing on the borough.

Firstly, the Poor Law, instigated in 1834, ruled that local councils must provide their own poor relief. Poor relief was given to those who were unemployed, in the form of either money or a workhouse place, and with no centralised support from the government, Poplar had to pay poor relief out of their rates. Rates were an individual property tax, a precursor to what we now know as council tax. Everyone had to pay rates, and the amount you had to pay depended on the rent or value of the property you lived in. As Poplar was such a poor borough with low rents, the council didn’t get much money from the rates - but with so many unemployed, Poplar had the highest poor relief bill in London. The system therefore penalised the poorest boroughs - for example, in 1921 Poplar collected £4m of rates with almost 87,000 unemployed to support, whereas Kensington, the richest borough, collected £15m but had only 4800 people without jobs. Because Poplar had the lowest rate income and the highest poor relief bill, it was struggling.

The second law that Poplar had to contend with was the paying of precepts. These payments were collected from every borough and pooled to pay for several cross-London services, such as the . The precept amount was the same regardless of borough. So poor boroughs had to pay the same amount for some common services as wealthier boroughs, even though there was no common funding for poor relief. Lansbury had long argued the unfairness of this, and that some equalisation should be necessary to lift the burden from poorer boroughs.

Poplar council were crumbling under the weight of the combined rates, in a system which penalised the poorest by making them pay more. It took a momentous decision to change the status quo - and we’ll journey now to the place where that decision was made. Stop 4 - Lansbury Heritage Hotel

“We are happy about going to prison for a principle. We expect all working women to carry on the fight for rates equalisation while we are there.” - Julia Scurr when taken to prison in 1921

You are standing outside a luxury boutique hotel, the Lansbury Heritage Hotel. This impressive Victorian grade-II listed building used to be the Poplar Town Hall, where daily council business was enacted, and where we find ourselves, in 1921, on the brink of a momentous decision.

We left the council struggling to pay unfair tax rates and provide for their constituents. Drastic action was needed, and George Lansbury suggested a novel solution - they would simply not pay the unfair precept rates, which every borough was expected to contribute to to maintain services in the city. In March 1921, the council were in agreement, and they decided to withhold this payment from the government, and spend it on their poor relief bill instead.

This was completely unprecedented - never before had a local council stood up to central government in this way. The government tried various methods of collecting the money, including legal summons, but the councillors stuck to their position. They also made their stand very public, calling many meetings with borough inhabitants throughout the following weeks, and making sure those in the borough understood their position and could make their voices heard. In July, the government told the councillors in no uncertain terms that they were breaking the law, and they had an ultimatum - to pay the rates as the law dictated, or go to prison. George Lansbury responded: ‘All reforms come from those who are ready to break bad laws.

On August 31st, 6000 people from the borough showed their support by coming here to this very building, filling the streets to attend a mass council meeting. It was to be the last for a while - the next day, the arrests of the councillors began. They were arrested amongst huge crowds of supporters and constituents, who vowed to keep up the fight whilst they were incarcerated. 30 councillors were sent to gaol, 25 men to Brixton and 5 women to Holloway. Many supporters threatened to physically prevent the arrest of the women, especially as one, Nellie Cressall, was 8 months pregnant. But the female councillors, who included Minnie Lansbury, George’s daughter-in-law, were adamant that they wished to be arrested, saying:

“We are here representing a principle which we have the right to defend as well as the men. If you prevent us from going, you do us the worst turn you can.” The women were showered with flowers as they were driven away to Holloway.

We will discover how they fared at our next stop. In the meantime, try to imagine these streets filled with protestors, people galvanised by the knowledge that they were fighting a great unfairness, and that their representatives would do whatever it took to change it. Stop 5 - Poplar Baths

“Joyful reunions inside their homes and joyful demonstrations without, the Councillors must have felt a sense of triumph that compensated for the bitterness of the past few weeks.” - the Daily Herald, describing the release of the councillors in 1921

You are standing outside Poplar Baths, a leisure centre for the residents of Tower Hamlets. If you brought your swimmers, you can pop in for a dip under the cavernous roof of this grade-II listed building. The original baths that stood here were built in 1852, under the Bath and Wash Houses Act, and were rebuilt into the building you see before you in 1933. You can still see the Poplar borough council crest on the front of the building. In the 1920s, these baths provided crucial washing facilities for the inhabitants of Poplar, and were also used as public rallying points - it was here that people gathered to welcome back their councillors the day after they were released from prison.

The councillors were kept in appalling conditions, especially pregnant Nellie Cressall, who was confined to the hospital wing in Holloway. But nonetheless, the councilllors remained defiant - Minnie Lansbury was even known to slide down the bannisters of her cell block, to the horror of her wardens. The councillors continued to conduct council business, holding meetings every week. George Lansbury frequently addressed the large crowds that had gathered outside through the bars in his windows. They refused all deals and compromises which would have enabled their freedom, insisting that they would only negotiate once they had been freed.

Public support for their plight was also growing, causing significant embarrassment for the government. The national press called for their release, neighbouring councils threatened similar action, and Trade Unions noisily supported the councillors whilst collecting money for their families. And amongst this all, the people of Poplar continued to gather, march and demonstrate. Due to her pregnancy, Nellie was released after much public outcry on September 21st, showing that the government were bowing to public pressure. On the 12th October, 6 weeks after their imprisonment, the government couldn’t justify their actions any longer, and the remaining councillors were set free.

The councillors returned home to riotous celebrations in Poplar, with marching bands and people filling the streets. There were huge assemblies held at locations such as these very baths. And the term ‘Poplarism’ was born, a term which meant defying authority to stand up for ordinary people, and large-scale relief for the poorest in society.

We’ll find out the legacy of Poplarism shortly, after a slight detour to learn more about the women of Poplar Council. Turn behind you and head north, through Chrisp Street Market, the first purpose-built pedestrian shopping area in the UK, and past the Ideas Store, a local library and a legacy of the many libraries opened by the Poplar councillors in the 1920s. Stop 6 - Minnie Lansbury Clock

“I wish the Government joy in its effort to get this money from the people of Poplar. Poplar will pay its share of London’s rates when Westminster, Kensington, and the City do the same!” - Minnie Lansbury, 1921

If you look up above Bow Food and Wine, you should see a green clock perched halfway up the building. This clock is a memorial clock erected in lasting memory of Minnie Lansbury, George’s daughter-in-law. Minnie was one of 5 female councillors in 1921 to be sent to prison, all remarkable women with a history of activism within Poplar.

The 4 other female councillors were Julia Scurr, Nellie Cresswell, and Jennie Mackay. Together with Minnie, they were a formidable group, insisting on their right to go to prison alongside the men.

All 5 women were prominent activists, and most had previously been involved in suffrage in the East End, as well as protesting for workers and unemployment rights. Nellie Cressall, who had served her time in jail on the hospital wing due to her pregnancy, had joined the East London Federation of Suffragettes in 1913. She was known as a formidable public speaker, and became Poplar’s first female mayor in 1943. She worked continuously for her local area until her death in 1973, aged 90.

Susan Lawrence was slightly unusual - she had been born into a wealthy family, and had an eccentric appearance, famed for her monocle and close-cropped hair. She began her political life as a conservative councillor in West London, before undergoing a startling conversion after seeing the mass poverty in the East. She remained a passionate socialist and key figure in the Labour party for the rest of her life.

Minnie herself lived just across the road from her clock, on Wellington Way. If you look behind you, past the bus stop, you can cross over, and walk down the street to number 6, where she lived with her husband, Edgar Lansbury. Minnie was a primary school teacher, before joining the Suffragettes in 1915 and the War Pensions Committee during WW1. She was known for her empathy and commitment to those in her local area, and constituents would often make their way to her home to ask for help after she was elected to the council in 1919. Although going cheerfully to prison, she also saw the majority of her 6 weeks there in the sick ward. As a result of her imprisonment, she contracted pneumonia, dying 2 months after she was released, on New Years Day in 1922. These remarkable women gave their lives over to fighting against injustice, and championing civil rights and liberties for all around them. Minnie’s clock is a reminder that everyone can make a difference, and she is remembered in the words that George Lansbury wrote after she died:

“Minnie, in her 32 years, crammed double that number of years’ work compared with what many of us are able to accomplish. Her glory lies in the fact that with all her gifts and talents one thought dominated her whole being night and day: How shall we help the poor, the weak, the fallen, weary and heavy-laden, to help themselves? When, a soldier like Minnie passes on, it only means their presence is withdrawn, their life and work remaining an inspiration and a call to us each to close the ranks and continue our march breast forward.” Now head just along the road on towards your next stop, to hear what Poplarism achieved and its enduring legacy. Stop 7 - George Lansbury House

“In the end the Poplar Councillors killed the old Poor Law spirit and no one would want it back” - from an article in the East London Advertiser in 1952

On this unremarkable corner of busy Bow Road, you will see an unremarkable house, commemorated outside with a blue plaque and a small memorial obelisk. Take some time to read the inscription. This was the dwelling of one of the heroes of this tale, George Lansbury, who lived on this site for 23 years. His original home was destroyed during just months after he died in 1940, and built over with the modern housing you see before you. The changes that George instigated and were followed through by the council and the people of the borough would have a lasting effect on the area, and on the psyche of those who lived there.

The actions of the councillors had an immediate effect. The Local Authorities Financial Provisions Act was rushed through parliament in 1921, equalising rates and pooling relief burdens between rich and poor boroughs. Although it would be 1929 before the poor relief responsibility was entirely lifted from local councils, the new bill lifted some of Poplar’s financial worries, giving it newfound wealth, and with it, a chance to improve the lives of its residents.

Over the next 6 years, the council cleaned the streets, planted 2000 new trees, increased library provisions and bathing facilities, upped the use of electricity in the area, increased health facilities and decreased mortality rates, demolished slums and built more housing, and decreased unemployment. The change in the borough was remarkable, all brought about by the spirited attitude of the council, and the passion of those who lived there for the welfare of Poplar.

Despite these welcome changes, the next few years were testing for the council. The government introduced failsafes to make sure nothing like Poplarism could happen again, and the borough remained very poor. The councillors were constantly challenged by both the government and their own party, and continued to take a stand for the people of Poplar when they could, but with limited results. But the spirit and legacy of Poplarism endures today, showing what can be achieved with direct action. And since the rebellion, a history of protest had endured in Tower Hamlets. We will dive more into the recurring radicalism of the borough at our next and final stop. Stop 8 - The Lord Morpeth Pub

“I know we will create a society where there are no rich or poor, no people without work or beauty in their lives, where money itself will disappear, where we shall all be brothers and sisters, where every one have enough.” - Pankhurst

Our last stop is 400 Road. In 1914, this was the location of the East London Federation of Suffragettes, and the home of its leader, . Although the building she lived in is long gone, the Lord Morpeth pub remains. It was built in 1848, and was a regular drinking den for the suffragettes. As we’ve already heard, many of our councillors had connections to the federation, playing their part in fighting for equality for women. You should be able to see the blue plaque on the side of the building, nestled amongst a ‘votes for women’ mural, commemorating the local women who worked tirelessly to improve our society.

The Suffragette movement is another example amongst many of activism in the area. Poplar was incorporated into the borough of Tower Hamlets in 1965, and the borough today is rich in multiculturalism. It is the second most densely populated borough in the UK, with the youngest population in the country. 137 languages are spoken here, and throughout history, many different communities and nationalities have made their home here. The diversity and density of the residents have given rise to a history of protest, social action and reform, as communities come together to effect positive change in their local area.

If you are interested in learning more, you can extend the tour to cover some of the most prominent examples. If you walk South-West from here, towards , you will hit Cable Street. In 1936, conditions after the Great Depression had left many feeling angry and impotent, and facism and anti-semitism were on the rise. Oswald Moseley, leader of the British Union of Fascists, led a march into the heart of , the centre of the Jewish community in Tower Hamlets. But showing commitment to the resistance and protest typical in the borough, an anti-facist crowd gathered on Cable Street to deny them entry, and to rally around their Jewish neighbours. Mosely was forced to retreat, and the event became known as the , a victory for anti-facists everywhere.

Heading north-west from Cable Street will take you to Altab Ali park in , where Altab Ali, a 25-year old Bengali worker, was murdered in 1978. The murder was a racist attack, part of a spate of attacks against the Bengali community, which had been increasing since the rise of the National Front in the area. Ali’s murder prompted marches down and into Hyde Park, and days of sit-down protests, giving rise to the Bengali youth movement and driving the National Front out of the area.

Finally, the park just behind the Lord Morpeth, Victoria Park, has a fascinating history of protest all of its own. As well as being a location for crowds to gather after the councillors were freed from prison in 1921, it has been the site of many protests and rallies, including Rock Against Racism in 1978.

We hope you’ve enjoyed your walk, and learning about Populism and protest in Tower Hamlets. We recommend popping into the Lord Morpeth to soak up the history, and have a drink in the same place that the Poplar councillors may once have sat. We have more resources and information in our zine, and we hope it has inspired you to see where you can make change in your local communities.