Empty Property
In thhe early 1980’s I was commissioned to cover the subject of ‘Empty Properties in East London’. The man in these photographs lived rough on a derelict housing block in Shadwell. I recall him telling how his friend had burnt to death when some inflamable spirit caught alight where he was sleeping next to an open fire.
Homeless man. Shadwell, London 1983
Homeless man. Shadwell, London 1983
News On The Wall
Reading a daily newspaper in Dhaka. Bangladesh 1991
Messages on the wall. Barcelona 2005
Cycle Power
Rickshaw driver waiting for a passenger. Dhaka, Bangladesh c.1991
Cyclist in Cambridge, 2012
In The Round
Vintage Car Headlight. Spitalfields Market c,1998
Vintage glass roof. Princelet Street Synagogue, London 1995
No Poll Tax
The campaign against the Poll Tax twenty years ago was a massive nationwide campaign. “Can’t Pay – Won’t Pay” was the slogan of the thousands of Anti Poll Tax Unions. There was a big campaign of non payment in East London which organised meetings and supported people if they were summoned to court for non payment or threatened by Bailiffs. Militant was the principle organisation behind the mass non payment campaign. The Anti Poll Tax Unions took to the courts where around 20 million people were summoned. They were supported in the courts by Militant supporters and entire courts grinded to a halt and lawyers volunteered to take up appeals. Local meetings were held on estates and a great feeling of solidarity was created in working class communities against Thatcher’s tax. Eventually the tax was defeated and substantial damage was inflicted on the Government. Rarely has a mass campaign permeated so deeply into society with such an impact. The Pay No Poll Tax campaign demonstrated the potential power of solidarity against a repressive government.
Tower Hamlets activists at a Glasgow demonstration against the tax, 1990
Public organising meeting against the Poll Tax. The Davenant Centre, East Lon
Voting for a mass campaign of non payment. The Davenant Centre, East London 1990
Children with a message. Chicksand estate, Tower Hamlets 1990
Children with a message. Chicksand estate, Tower Hamlets 1990
No Poll Tax meeting with a local councillor. East London 1990
East London activists demonstrating in Glasgow, 1990
Campaigners outside the home of Horif Miah who was threatened with bailiffs. East London 1991
Campaigners outside the home of Horif Miah who was threatened with bailiffs. East London 1991
Anti Poll Tax messages. Glasgow 1990
