The New Era estate's residents have been fighting to keep their homes after the estate was sold by its landlords, the Lever family, to a US private equity outfit called Westbrook Partners. The fund planned to redevelop the estate and raise rents to market levels, causing mass evictions and big profits.

New Era residents mounted a high-profile campaign, which got much media attention after attracting celebrity support from comedian-turned-revolutionary-messiah Russell Brand. Coming on the back of the E15 mums' occupation on the Carpenters Estate in Stratford, they have helped make London evictions and gentrification into a political hot potato.

First, in November, Benyon Estate, the company which was going to manage the estate for Westbrook and had a 10% ownership stake, pulled out of the deal. Benyon is the family firm of multi-millionaire Tory MP Richard Benyon. A demo at the firm's offices, and news headlines about Benyon's stately home with 3,500 acre grounds near Reading, persuaded Benyon the deal wasn't worth the publicity.

Now Westbrook has announced it is selling up. The new owner is "Dolphin Living", the "housing delivery arm of Dolphin Square Foundation", a charitable foundation that runs "affordable" rented housing.

The deal is a victory for the New Era campaign. At least, a temporary one. Dolphin living has promised the New Era residents that it won't raise rents for one year. What happens after that is not so clear. For example, on its website right now Dolphin is advertising a two bedroom flat at an "affordable" rent of £360 per week. Hardly affordable for most people, and more than double what New Era tenants are paying right now.

Who or what is Dolphin Square Foundation? In its own words:

"Dolphin Square Foundation is an independent affordable housing provider and developer. We were established in 2005 with an endowment of more than £80 million from the sale of the leasehold of Dolphin Square in Pimlico. We seek to provide an aspirational affordable housing product, primarily for the intermediate rental market in Central London, and to hold all our schemes in the long run."

Its board is largely made up of property bosses: e.g., the chief exec of "City West Homes", which has 22,000 properties for private and "social" rent; one suit who worked for 30 years for the Duke of Westminster, Britain's richest man and biggest landlord, and now works for the Duke of Lancaster; and managers of various other private property companies. Many board members are linked to Westminster Council, including a former Lord Mayor.

Dolphin Square itself is the gated estate of luxury apartments near the Houses of Parliament where dozens of MPS and other elite figures have flats. It is now best known as the scene of the Westminster paedophile murder ring, details of which are slowly dripping out and implicating the whole UK establishment.

It was in Dolphin Square that, according to a survivor, two Conservative party ministers, as well as more MPs and other members of the elite, raped and tortured him and other children at parties during the 1980s. After decades of cover-ups, the Metropolitan police have now been pushed to investigate three murders linked to the abuse network, which also involved senior spies and cops. Yesterday, a Labour MP apparently submitted a dossier which names 13 former government ministers. New details are coming out almost every day, mainly broken on the investigative website Exaro, but now being picked up across the mainstream press.

With its new landlords, it seems likely that the New Era story is not over, but just entering a new chapter. The Dolphin Square story is just beginning to emerge. These two very different housing estates are strangely linked as magnetic points for the social war in our city. One in Westminster, the centuries-old seat of power. One in the East End, front line of gentrification and class struggle. One epitomising the cruelty and ghastly violence of the elite, sick humans whose power puts them beyond control or empathy. The other a focus of resistance.