The Grenfell Tower fire
Poet Ben Okri on London’s Grenfell Tower fire: “It has revealed the undercurrents of our age”
By Paul Bond, 11 September 2017
To his credit, Okri recognises the capitalist profit motive in the decisions that led to the Grenfell tragedy.
UK: May government finalises Grenfell Tower Inquiry cover-up
By Robert Stevens, 9 September 2017
The inquiry has no intention of achieving real justice for the victims of Grenfell—nor remedying the dangers faced by thousands of other tenants across the country.
London residents speak on Grenfell Tower fire
By our reporters, 6 September 2017
“As long as the rich people, special interests and the establishment are ruling, then there will always be a cover-up.”
UK: 228 high-rise buildings fail mock-up fire tests post-Grenfell
By Steve James, 29 August 2017
Every single one of the cladding systems now being exposed as deadly had previously been signed off by various regulatory bodies as safe.
UK: Salford residents challenge Labour Council over fire risks revealed by Grenfell Tower
By our reporters, 29 August 2017
The meeting offered no way forward for residents, of Salford or elsewhere, forced to live in potential death traps.
Interview with rapper El Nino about “Grenfell Tower’s Burning”: “We had to watch that, so why shouldn’t they have to listen to us?”
By Paul Bond, 28 August 2017
Following the World Socialist Web Site’s recent review of the artistic response to the Grenfell Tower fire from local artists, reviewer Paul Bond spoke to El Nino.
Flammable cladding: Australian governments continue the political whitewash
By Paul Bartizan, 26 August 2017
Government officials feign concern while issuing empty promises to try to politically deflect widespread concerns by residents and workers about at-risk buildings.
“As we grew up, our instinct was that the enemy was the system and the police. That’s what we were fighting against.”
Attendees at SEP public meeting discuss Grenfell Tower fire
By our reporters, 26 August 2017
WSWS reporters spoke to those who came to the SEP public meeting in London on the Grenfell Tower fire.
Socialist Equality Party public meeting on Grenfell Tower fire
“Grenfell has shown one thing above all—and that is the enormous ingenuity, dedication and seriousness of the working class.”
By our reporters, 26 August 2017
Socialist Equality Party National Secretary Chris Marsden delivered closing remarks to the SEP’s August 19 public meeting in London on the Grenfell Tower fire.
Grenfell fire survivors speak at Socialist Equality Party public meeting
By our reporters, 25 August 2017
A number of survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire attended and spoke at the August 19 public meeting of the Socialist Equality Party (UK) in London.
Remarks by Jerry White of the SEP (US) at Grenfell Tower fire public meeting in London
24 August 2017
To warm applause, White said, “The most effective use of our energy and our determination has to be mobilise our class, independently, not to expend our energy in fruitless appeals to the powers that be.”
Worker at SEP public meeting on the Grenfell Tower fire: “We are working class and we always suffer. A few people who are rich, they call the shots.”
By our reporters, 24 August 2017
Delroy, from Wembley in northwest London, spoke to the WSWS following the August 19 public meeting on Grenfell Tower.
The political implications of the Grenfell Tower fire
By Chris Marsden, 23 August 2017
This speech was given by Socialist Equality Party National Secretary Chris Marsden at the August 19 public meeting in London on the Grenfell Tower fire.
Anatomy of the Grenfell Tower fire
Speech given by Thomas Scripps at Socialist Equality Party public meeting
22 August 2017
Scripps: “It is politically vital to establish why this one event is a crime perpetrated by capitalism against the working class…and to explain why we have declared Grenfell to be an act of social murder.”
Socialist Equality Party holds public meeting on Grenfell fire in London
By our reporter, 21 August 2017
To ensure that all felt free to speak, the SEP had denied a request from Sky News to film proceedings and told police officers who inquired that they were not welcome.
Grenfell Tower fire: “I believe that it is social cleansing, and we are now seeing the result of it”
By our reporters, 18 August 2017
WSWS reporters spoke to residents of Ladbroke Grove about the Grenfell Tower fire and the SEP’s public meeting to be held Saturday.
London residents hold silent march for Grenfell victims
By our reporters, 17 August 2017
Around 500 local residents and others from London boroughs marched through the area surrounding Grenfell Tower Monday evening to mark two months since the fire.
UK: Salford residents speak of their safety concerns after Grenfell fire
By Dennis Moore and Margot Miller, 16 August 2017
Many tower blocks in Salford are clad in flammable material similar to that which encased the Grenfell Tower.
“The night our eyes changed”
Five musical responses to the Grenfell Tower inferno
By Paul Bond, 16 August 2017
Music mogul Simon Cowell brought together high-profile figures for a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, but a far more powerful and politically interesting response has come from local artists.
UK: Residents march against social cleansing by Newham Labour council
By our reporters, 15 August 2017
Newham council is refusing to house those it is making homeless in the Carpenters Estate even though there are 400 vacant houses available.
Grenfell fire: “They don’t give a damn because for them life is just cheap”
By our reporters, 14 August 2017
World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to residents in Ladbroke Grove about the Grenfell fire.
Emergency evacuation of four south London tower blocks
By Paul Mitchell, 12 August 2017
Safety checks carried out following the Grenfell Tower fire indicate the Ledbury tower blocks are at risk of collapse in the event of a gas explosion.
London: Ledbury estate residents speak about evacuation from their homes
By Daniel O’Flynn and Michael Gardner, 12 August 2017
Residents of 242 flats on the Ledbury estate in south London spoke to the WSWS about Southwark Council’s telling them they will have to “temporarily decant the blocks over the coming weeks and months” for emergency works.
After the Grenfell fire: Britain’s Observer defends the role of the mainstream media
By Chris Marsden, 12 August 2017
The loss of public trust in the media is not because of one or another wrong position, but because almost every major newspaper and TV station is in the pockets of the billionaires who own them.
Survivors, SEP member denounce police inaction over Grenfell Tower fire at latest community public meeting
By Paul Mitchell, 11 August 2017
Eight weeks after the fire, few of the promised measures have materialised and survivors and local residents continue to be treated with contempt.
Grenfell Tower: How the warnings of cladding dangers were ignored
By Steve James, 10 August 2017
Decades prior to the Grenfell fire, the dangers of flammable and incorrectly installed cladding were known to governments of all stripes and ignored.
Grenfell fire: “It’s like Victorian days, where we have nothing and they have everything”
By our reporters, 9 August 2017
World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to local residents in Ladbroke Grove about the Grenfell Tower fire.
Grenfell Tower survivor: “We pray that whoever has done this will get punished”
By our reporters, 8 August 2017
A Socialist Equality Party campaign team spoke to residents in Ladbroke Grove about the Grenfell Tower fire, ahead of the public meeting, Grenfell Fire—Social Murder: A crime against the working class.
Second fire at Dubai skyscraper underscores safety failures at Grenfell Tower
By Chris Marsden, 5 August 2017
An earlier blaze in the United Arab Emirates tower was attributed to the same type of cladding and insulation used on Grenfell Tower in London.
Former Grenfell Tower residents left without permanent accommodation
By Thomas Scripps, 4 August 2017
Currently, only 45 households have accepted accommodation offers, with only 12 properly rehoused.
Grenfell fire survivors speak out over poor treatment
By our reporters, 4 August 2017
World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to former Grenfell Tower residents about Kensington and Chelsea’s rehousing offer.
Grenfell survivors homeless while local mansions remain empty
By Paul Mitchell, 3 August 2017
Across London, 19,845 homes, worth some £9.4 billion ($12 billion), sat idle for over six months in 2016.
Meetings in Australia and New Zealand discuss international significance of Grenfell Tower disaster
By our reporters, 1 August 2017
Speakers outlined the parallels between the fire in London, and the gutting of building safety regulations in Australia by successive Labor and Liberal-National governments.
Residents in London district of Ladbroke Grove speak out on Grenfell fire
By our reporters, 31 July 2017
A Socialist Equality Party campaign team spoke to local residents in London’s Ladbroke Grove on Saturday about the Grenfell Tower fire.
Police announce possible manslaughter charges in connection with Grenfell Fire
By Robert Stevens, 29 July 2017
Despite the investigation being in operation for more than six weeks, not a single person has been arrested or even charged.
Grenfell Tower fire survivors reject local authority, police cover-up
By Robert Stevens, 28 July 2017
The Kensington and Chelsea councillors are entirely insulated from the social catastrophe that they inflicted on the working class population they want to drive out of the borough.
London schools with flammable cladding deemed “safe”
By Tom Pearce, 28 July 2017
Despite the widespread use of flammable cladding in schools, only three schools have so far been tested.
Grenfell fire witness Johnny Regasa: “You saw so many people at their windows burning alive”
By our reporters, 27 July 2017
WSWS reporters spoke to Johnny Regasa, who lost a friend, Hashim Kedir, in the Grenfell Tower fire and assisted several survivors.
Residents confront head of government inquiry into Grenfell Fire
By Robert Stevens, 27 July 2017
Such consultations are an attempt to bestow much needed legitimacy on the inquiry, which will have no legal powers to prosecute anybody or hold anyone to account.
Australian inquiry into dangerous building products: An exercise in political damage control
By Richard Phillips, 27 July 2017
Safety and building engineers condemn deregulation, privatisation of building inspection and government cost-cutting.
The Grenfell Fire: Vigil held for five-year-old victim
By Robert Stevens, 25 July 2017
Family, friends and local residents gathered to mourn five-year-old Isaac Paulos, who lived with his family on Grenfell’s 18th floor and was found dead on the 13th floor.
Grenfell residents correct to warn of social cleansing agenda
UK: Kensington and Chelsea Council struck deals to avoid building affordable housing
By Julie Hyland, 25 July 2017
Research by the BBC confirms the council has connived with construction firms and property companies to displace working class families from the borough.
Grenfell fire: social cleansing by London councils widespread
By Julie Hyland, 24 July 2017
Formerly socially owned and essential assets have been transferred wholesale to major corporations and hedge funds, jeopardising the lives of working people.
Residents in Bradford, England: “We are all affected by what has happened at Grenfell”
By Liz Smith, 22 July 2017
Reporters from the World Socialist Web Site spoke to residents in Bradford about the Grenfell fire.
UK public meetings:
Grenfell Fire—Social Murder: A crime against the working class
21 July 2017
The Socialist Equality Party urges all workers and youth, including survivors of the Grenfell fire and local residents, to attend our public meetings and discuss the central issues involved in this capitalist crime against the working class.
Council condemned for “disgusting” treatment of Grenfell fire survivors
By Paul Mitchell, 21 July 2017
A heavy police and security guard presence was mobilised outside and inside the town hall to ensure that as few survivors as possible would be able to enter.
Protesters at Kensington and Chelsea council meeting: “This has been a massive crime and they all seem to be getting away with it”
By our reporters, 21 July 2017
World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to a number of those protesting outside the meeting.
Fire risk in most New Zealand high-rise buildings
By Tom Peters, 21 July 2017
Following the Grenfell Tower inferno in London, experts in New Zealand have warned of the potential for a similar disaster.
Angry Grenfell survivors and residents berate London police and council officials
By Robert Stevens, 20 July 2017
Local residents and survivors of the Grenfell Tower inferno denounced police and the Kensington and Chelsea Council as “liars” working for “rich folks.”
Australian governments continue to cover-up unsafe buildings
By Richard Phillips, 20 July 2017
Five weeks after the Grenfell Tower fire, only a handful of flammable-clad buildings have been identified and nothing has been done to prevent a potential disaster.
Labour shadow chancellor says Grenfell Tower fire is “social murder”: What is he going to do about it?
By Chris Marsden, 19 July 2017
Workers should ask John McDonnell, who says the guilty parties should be punished for Grenfell, what he and Labour are doing about it.
“This is a crime of capitalism against the working class”
Residents denounce inequality at fundraising event for Grenfell Tower victims
By our reporters, 19 July 2017
People attending the local fundraising event in West London for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire spoke with the World Socialist Web Site.
Socialist Equality Party (UK) members threatened and excluded from Grenfell Tower fundraiser
By our reporters, 19 July 2017
SEP members were barred from a fundraising event for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, which was being held in a public area near the burnt-out tower.
One month since the UK Grenfell Fire:
Three die in Honolulu high-rise without sprinkler system
By Andre Damon, 17 July 2017
The disaster in Honolulu makes clear that the London fire was no aberration. All over the world, the lives of working people are treated as expendable in the pursuit of wealth and profits by the financial elite.
The Grenfell fire: Class politics versus identity politics
By Robert Stevens and Laura Tiernan, 17 July 2017
Within hours of the fire, and with only a small number of the dead identified, major efforts were already underway to make racism the central issue in the tragedy.
Anger grows over failure to prosecute those responsible for Grenfell Tower inferno
By Chris Marsden, 15 July 2017
Despite a mountain of evidence of criminal wrongdoing by politicians and business leaders, no one has been charged in connection with the fire that killed at least 80.
Thames Water workers speak:
Privatisation contributed to Grenfell Tower inferno
By Paul Mitchell, 14 July 2017
A former Thames Water worker told the WSWS that the company is seeking to deflect inquiries into a policy of reducing water pressure to cut down leakage from water mains.
Most Grenfell survivors remain homeless a month after inferno
By Margot Miller, 13 July 2017
The failure to provide emergency rehousing for just 158 families, in one of the richest cities in the world, reveals the callous indifference of the ruling elite to the suffering of the fire victims.
London police drag out Grenfell Tower fire investigation
By Robert Stevens, 12 July 2017
Fully one month after the fire, not a single person has been arrested or charged for what is the corporate manslaughter of at least 80 people.
Australian building experts discuss the Grenfell Tower fire
By our reporters, 12 July 2017
“Fire safety is more important than the façade of a building,” building inspector says.
Fire guts London’s Camden Lock Market
By Chris Marsden, 11 July 2017
The fire raged for three hours and destroyed around 30 percent of the first, second, and third floors.
Resignations at UK Shelter housing charity, after Grenfell exposes role of “Third Sector”
By Julie Hyland, 10 July 2017
The Grenfell Tower fire has laid bare the impact of decades of free market policies, deregulation and cuts in public spending initiated by Thatcher and continued by every subsequent government.
Camden residents: “You cannot trust them now because of Grenfell. It’s never going to be the same again”
By Robert Stevens, 10 July 2017
World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to tenants in the Blashford tower block about the Grenfell fire and the situation they face.
Australia: Lacrosse apartment residents speak out over Grenfell Tower disaster
By Paul Bartizan, 10 July 2017
Almost three years after Melbourne’s Lacrosse apartment block caught fire, the building’s flammable cladding remains in place.
London’s Grenfell fire: Salford housing associations discontinue cladding removal
By our reporters, 8 July 2017
Three housing associations, Salix, City West Housing Trust and Pendlebury, together run the 29 tower blocks whose cladding failed fire safety tests.
London resident on Grenfell fire: “I’m looking at a graveyard with people’s relatives inside”
By our reporters, 7 July 2017
WSWS reporters spoke to people outside the Westway Sports Centre in North Kensington, which is being used as an “Assistance Centre” for residents affected by the Grenfell fire.
London residents on the Grenfell fire: “All they want to do is maximise their profits”
By our reporters, 6 July 2017
World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to London residents on Bramley Road, near Grenfell Tower.
London residents on Grenfell fire: “Heads have got to roll!”
By our reporters, 5 July 2017
Residents at Lancaster West spoke about the tragedy, their disbelief in the official death toll, and the conditions workers throughout the area have faced since the deadly inferno.
Three weeks after the Grenfell inferno: Official cover-up and callous indifference
By Robert Stevens, 5 July 2017
The period since the fire has underscored the ruling elite’s contempt for the traumatised survivors and the working class as a whole.
Public meetings in Australia and New Zealand
The Grenfell Tower disaster: A crime against the working class
5 July 2017
Homes, schools, hospitals and other public buildings must be made safe. The criminals in high places must be brought to justice.
“There are people who died in there—and they’re not telling us who they are.”
Anger grows over Grenfell Tower inferno
By our reporters, 4 July 2017
Residents of the Lancaster West housing estate near Grenfell Tower talked to the World Socialist Web Site about the June 14 fire in London.
“People died because they used cheap cladding. It’s like war between rich and poor”
Anti-austerity protestors speak on the Grenfell Tower fire
By our reporters, 3 July 2017
The World Socialist Web Site interviewed some of those participating in Saturday’s anti-austerity demonstration. Dominating the thoughts of those who attended was the Grenfell Tower inferno and its implications.
Australian workers and youth speak out on Grenfell Tower tragedy
By our reporters, 3 July 2017
Those who spoke to the WSWS drew parallels between the London fire and the undermining of building regulations in Australia.
The human cost of capitalism: The Grenfell fire and the poisoning of Flint, Michigan
By Jerry White, 30 June 2017
In both London and Flint—and cities throughout the globe—modern-day capitalism is condemning the working class to impossible conditions and an early grave.
Two weeks after London’s Grenfell Tower inferno, real death toll still concealed by Tory government
By Robert Stevens, 29 June 2017
As with the victims of their policies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere, those killed in the Grenfell Tower fire are looked upon by the ruling class as “collateral damage.”
"The rich want families with low income out”
On-the-spot report from London: Residents speak on Grenfell fire
By our reporters, 28 June 2017
Residents near the burnt-out Grenfell Tower spoke about the gaping social divide in London and the responsibility of the Tories and Labourites for this horrific loss of life.
Flint, Michigan residents speak about London fire
By Sheila Brehm and Phyllis Steele, 28 June 2017
Residents in Flint, Michigan, said the Grenfell Tower fire, like the lead poisoning of their city, was the result of politicians subordinating the needs of the population to private profit.
London’s Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council: A residents’ association for the rich
By Jean Shaoul, 27 June 2017
The Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, despite being nominally a tenants’ organisation, has served the Conservative council’s broader objectives.
On-the-spot report from London:
Residents in Camden speak about Grenfell fire and their evacuation due to fire risk
By our reporters, 27 June 2017
World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to residents evacuated from tower blocks on the Chalcots Estate in London by Labour Party-run Camden council over the weekend.
Flammable cladding rife in Australian construction industry
By Paul Bartizan and Richard Phillips, 27 June 2017
The dangers of aluminium composite panels were known to building authorities and relevant government ministers long before the Grenfell Tower disaster.
The political implications of the Grenfell Tower fire
By Chris Marsden, 27 June 2017
The staggering loss of life epitomises the devastation capitalism has wrought on generations of working people. It is the outcome of a vast and ongoing transfer of society’s wealth from the poor to the rich.
Hundreds of thousands in UK face same fire risk as Grenfell Tower victims
By Robert Stevens, 26 June 2017
Of the UK’s 4,000 tower blocks, 600 have been selected for testing, due to the use of unsafe building materials.
UK: Camden residents speak of ill treatment during tower block evacuation
By our reporters, 26 June 2017
WSWS reporters spoke to some of the thousands of Camden residents, who were evacuated because their tower blocks are unsafe.
Boris Johnson and the Grenfell Tower inferno
By Julie Hyland, 24 June 2017
As London mayor, Johnson forced through massive cuts in the London Fire Brigade budget despite repeated warnings that they would cost lives.
After Grenfell Tower fire:
May government admits hundreds more UK tower blocks potentially clad in combustible material
By Robert Stevens, 23 June 2017
With the final death toll from the inferno still unknown, the Conservative government has called a public inquiry as part of efforts to conceal its complicity in the disaster.
Grenfell Tower fire victims and survivors treated with contempt by UK authorities
By Robert Stevens, 22 June 2017
The government’s “Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund,” which totals a pitiful £5 million, stands in stark contrast to the £369 million worth of repairs to Buckingham Palace.
UK’s Daily Mail tries to scapegoat resident for Grenfell Tower inferno
By Margot Miller and Robert Stevens, 21 June 2017
Angry denunciations of the tabloid flooded in after it tried to pin the blame for the horrific fire that cost the lives of at least 79 people on an Ethiopian taxi driver.
UK government deregulation led to Grenfell Tower inferno
By Julie Hyland, 21 June 2017
For almost 40 years, the assault on health and safety regulations has gone hand in glove with Margaret Thatcher’s notorious dictum that there is “no such thing as society.”
“We cannot brush this under the table, some heads have to roll”
London residents speak on Grenfell Tower fire
By our reporters, 20 June 2017
London residents and people living in housing nearby Grenfell Tower speak about the horrifying fire that has killed at least 79 residents, and the economic and political decisions that allowed it to happen.
London protests demand “Justice for Grenfell!”
By our reporters, 19 June 2017
Hundreds gathered outside Kensington Town Hall, while thousands more marched on the government district of Whitehall.
On-the-spot report
From the scene of the deadly London fire: “They’re putting money before lives”
By Alice Summers and reporters, 19 June 2017
Hundreds came to the site from across London throughout the day to pay their respects to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire and to offer assistance to the community’s own relief efforts.
Social inequality and the Grenfell Tower inferno
By Chris Marsden, 19 June 2017
Thousands have met Prime Minister May’s promise to hold a public inquiry with denunciations of yet another cover-up, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gives his full support.
Corporate mass murder in London
By Robert Stevens, 17 June 2017
Thousands protested in London Friday to demand justice and the punishment of those responsible for mass murder in the worst housing fire in modern British history.
UK: May forced to call public inquiry into Grenfell Tower fire
By Robert Stevens, 16 June 2017
With many people still to be accounted for from a building that was home to between 500 and 600 people, London’s Metropolitan Police announced that the death toll from Wednesday’s fire had reached 17.
London’s Grenfell Tower inferno: A crime against the working class
By Laura Tiernan, 15 June 2017
The catastrophic fire broke out shortly after midnight Wednesday, on the second floor of 24-storey council flats in Kensington, West London that were home to an estimated 500 people.
Grenfell Tower residents warn: “People have had enough”
By our reporters, 15 June 2017
The World Socialist Web Site spoke to residents about the fire that gutted Grenfell Tower Wednesday morning.
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