Liverpool: The Yuppie Takeover
MC | 26.03.2006 16:18 | Culture | Social Struggles | Liverpool
Lord, in a bourgeois town
It's a bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around
- Leadbelly
The yuppies are coming! The scum are taking over! Nothing and no one is safe. The local authorities are in on the act. The government too. Everything we’ve been taught to love and trust has sold out to this dark force. It’s Vichy France all over again – so you better stop worrying and learn to love the new regime.
Yes readers, Liverpool is a city in the grip of immense change. More precisely, Liverpool is a half-city/half building site in the grip of immense change. Numerous cranes now adorn the historic skyline, arching like giant Meccano vultures over the commercial centre of the city.
The rich and the beautiful are desperate to bask in the glory of the 2008 Capital of Culture. For the politician’s hell-bent on extinguishing the last remnants of working-class culture and identity, this is a golden, jackpot opportunity. They hope the yuppies will bring their money and bourgeois values with them – lining the pockets of the local fat cats and helping to turn to Liverpool into a cosmopolitan theme park. It is sign that a city is losing its soul when it becomes defined by the shops it has to offer; how expensive its property is, and the exclusivity of its culture. This is the inevitable fate of every urban district in the neo-Thatcherite era.
What about the natives? Over the years, millions of pounds has been thrown at Merseyside, some of it used well, much of it misspent and squandered on bureaucrats and ill-conceived schemes. Amongst the growing number of luxury apartments there are run-down areas of neglect and dereliction. One such area is Everton. The community is tight-knit; the strong look out for the weak, and everybody knows everybody else. The proximity of the area to the city centre has made it a prime location for development, making the existing tenants somewhat of an inconvenience to the city council. Mandy, a local council tenant, remarked, “this house is falling down, the windows, the heating, everything is faulty but I can't get repairs done because the council will not spend money repairing properties earmarked for demolition.” On a walk around the estate, Mandy showed me the rat holes in her front garden; the dank dens frequented by smackheads evidenced by their discarded hypodermic trash; the lone, elderly residents living in otherwise empty, boarded-up blocks of flats. Who’d have thought Paradise Street was just a stones throw away?
So what options are we left with? 1. Lie back and wait for the tide to wash over us; accept colonisation as a sign of ‘progress’ and maybe get a nice, cushy new job as a yuppie collaborator. 2. Resist the takeover, oppose the invasion.
Only a counter-cultural explosion of grassroots guerrilla resistance can slay this particular beast. Quiggins, Liverpool’s quasi-bohemian grotto facing yuppie eviction, hosted a punk night opposing the emergence of a ‘city of capitalist vultures.’ It’s a start, but a mere drop in the ocean when only a tidal wave will suffice.
Raise the stakes or the beast will prevail.
Yes readers, Liverpool is a city in the grip of immense change. More precisely, Liverpool is a half-city/half building site in the grip of immense change. Numerous cranes now adorn the historic skyline, arching like giant Meccano vultures over the commercial centre of the city.
The rich and the beautiful are desperate to bask in the glory of the 2008 Capital of Culture. For the politician’s hell-bent on extinguishing the last remnants of working-class culture and identity, this is a golden, jackpot opportunity. They hope the yuppies will bring their money and bourgeois values with them – lining the pockets of the local fat cats and helping to turn to Liverpool into a cosmopolitan theme park. It is sign that a city is losing its soul when it becomes defined by the shops it has to offer; how expensive its property is, and the exclusivity of its culture. This is the inevitable fate of every urban district in the neo-Thatcherite era.
What about the natives? Over the years, millions of pounds has been thrown at Merseyside, some of it used well, much of it misspent and squandered on bureaucrats and ill-conceived schemes. Amongst the growing number of luxury apartments there are run-down areas of neglect and dereliction. One such area is Everton. The community is tight-knit; the strong look out for the weak, and everybody knows everybody else. The proximity of the area to the city centre has made it a prime location for development, making the existing tenants somewhat of an inconvenience to the city council. Mandy, a local council tenant, remarked, “this house is falling down, the windows, the heating, everything is faulty but I can't get repairs done because the council will not spend money repairing properties earmarked for demolition.” On a walk around the estate, Mandy showed me the rat holes in her front garden; the dank dens frequented by smackheads evidenced by their discarded hypodermic trash; the lone, elderly residents living in otherwise empty, boarded-up blocks of flats. Who’d have thought Paradise Street was just a stones throw away?
So what options are we left with? 1. Lie back and wait for the tide to wash over us; accept colonisation as a sign of ‘progress’ and maybe get a nice, cushy new job as a yuppie collaborator. 2. Resist the takeover, oppose the invasion.
Only a counter-cultural explosion of grassroots guerrilla resistance can slay this particular beast. Quiggins, Liverpool’s quasi-bohemian grotto facing yuppie eviction, hosted a punk night opposing the emergence of a ‘city of capitalist vultures.’ It’s a start, but a mere drop in the ocean when only a tidal wave will suffice.
Raise the stakes or the beast will prevail.
MC
Homepage:
http://www.catalystmedia.org.uk/issues/misc/articles/yuppie_takeover.htm
Comments
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Radically sick !
26.03.2006 22:45
I lived in Brixton in the late 70's early 80's when gentrification was just taking off.
When the middle classes move in prices start to go up and the standard of living for working class people goes down. I prefer to call them "radical chic" they are oh so left wing and if you have a go at them, well of course it stands to reason if they are "the people" the left so if your against them you must be the dreaded right !!!
well fuck my old boots I must be a fascist.
In those days they formed "peoples" housing coops and had meetings with their mates from the council in the that little(youngs) boozer (the trinity?) in the SQ of the high street, they knew all the abbreviations for all the housing grants and got every penny.
those nice little working class houses make wonderfull starter "cottages" for first time buyer rich kids to buy.
It's not just liverpool it's the same throughout the UK and the EEC and who knows with all these low cost
new members of the EEC it will be happening in these countries as well soon ..
charliban
Change is good
27.03.2006 07:01
Improvements to existing housing
Refurbishment of green space
Updated lighting in public places
New Park N Ride schemes
Funding for artists
Yes I agree what a nightmare in sounds. This work in Liverpool is welcomed by eveyone except those (like the last remnant of Militant - who now call themself Liverpool Respect) who see it as a way for working class Liverpool people to improve their environment. The Liverpool Hard Left know their power is based on keeping the poor unhappy and disafected, they have seen their support dwindle to nothing as their old supporters drift away with increased prosperity in the city. 2008 city of culture is being welcomed. Come to Liverpool and join us at the party
Liverpool resident
'Guerilla warfare' proposed to save iconic city store
27.03.2006 10:36
AMERICAN Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is facing increasing opposition to her visit to Liverpool.
Anti-war protesters staged a demonstration against the planned visit by Ms Rice, who has been invited by the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, as local unions outlined their opposition to her visit.
On Saturday, as members of the North West TUC voted against the visit, Merseyside Stop the War Coalition were protesting around Liverpool city centre and outside the Philharmonic Hall wearing Guanatamo Bay-style orange jumpsuits, and T-shirts reading: "No Scouse for Rice" and "Leave the Iraqi People Alone (LIPA)", a reference to the planned visit to Sir Paul McCartney's fame school.
Audrey White, who organised the protest, said it was intended to remind people of the crimes she claims Condoleezza Rice committed in the Iraq War.
Pressure has also been put on Liverpool's artistic community to pull out of events organised in honour of the Secretary of State, often regarded as the most powerful woman in the world.
Anti-war protesters have written letters urging the city's musicians to refuse to play in a concert where the US Secretary of State will be guest of honour, at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall later this month.
Ms White said: "The protest was intended to appeal to employees at the Phil and those invited to the concert to boycott the event."
Poet Roger McGough has pulled out of the gala performance which he had been due to host, saying he had "no appetite for introducing an event that attracts anti-war protesters from London and divides rather than unites public enthusiasm locally".
The resolution passed at the weekend by the North West TUC Annual conference said Ms Rice had been involved in every stage of the Iraq war in which "thousands of Iraqis have died". The resolution added: "She has their blood on her hands".
Mark Holt, president of the Merseyside Stop the War coalition, said having the support of 1m trade unionists in support of their actions against the visit to Liverpool was "tremendous".
Mr Holt said: "I plead with the people of this great city to shun Condoleezza Rice who has been central to these events. We should show our true Scouse heart which is one of love, peace and solidarity."
Invited by Jack Straw, Ms Rice will visit Liverpool before heading to the Foreign Secretary's constituency in Blackburn, Lancashire.
While on Merseyside, she will be invited to a gala dinner where she will learn about Liverpool's plans for the Capital of Culture Year 2008 before meeting the city's most influential people and being entertained by the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
The 51-year-old, who said she was a Beatles fan, will also visit Sir Paul McCartney's fame school, the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. Her visit to the city will be one of the most high-profile foreign visits of recent years.
Despite the protests, venues, hotels and MPs hosting the US Secretary during her stay have hailed the visit as fantastic news for Merseyside.
Daily Post
Actual article: 'Guerilla warfare' proposed to save iconic city store
27.03.2006 10:41
The "guerilla war" is an option being considered by management and supporters of one the city's best loved retail and cultural destinations.
Quiggins on School Lane must make way for the £920m redevelopment of Paradise Street but - despite assurances - has not yet secured new premises to protect its long-term future.
The action could include a sit-in to frustrate the Grosvenor timetable, targeting some of the end users of the development with pickets, and even protests, to disrupt some of the city celebrations in 2007 and 2008.
Last week a compulsory purchase order (CPO) was served on the complex which demands it be vacated in July.
The Quiggins team are deeply frustrated that, despite their efforts to reach agreement with the city council and the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor company, they will currently be homeless in a matter of months.
Liverpool council leader Warren Bradley is trying to negotiate a compromise deal and has met with the Quiggins team a number of times in the last few weeks.
But their supporters are keeping all options open to them in their fight for survival and are sending out the clear message: "We're not going away."
Last night Quiggins co-owner Peter Tierney, who founded the business with brother Jimmy, said: "Quiggins has been ordered by the Duke of Westminster and Liverpool city council to vacate the existing building by July.
"No long-term site has been found to save the 250 local jobs and 50 independent retail businesses affected by the CPO of Quiggins.
"For over 20 years, Quiggins has been at the heart of Liverpool's cultural life. We have helped create hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs in the creative industries in Liverpool.
"We have bent over backwards for the Duke of Westminster and Liverpool city council. Sadly we have to report that the Duke of Westminster has refused to meet us to find a way forward to save the jobs of our people.
"We have won the battle for the hearts of the people of Liverpool. We raised the biggest petition in local history with 150,000 signatures sent to Parliament."
And Mr Tierney appeared to be in no mood to give up the fight.
He said: "We have had a number of meetings with Warren Bradley over the last few weeks but to little effect. We are now considering a programme of direct action."
But Cllr Bradley has not given up hope of a compromise and will chair a meeting between Grosvenor and Quiggins within the next few days.
He said: "I've actually tried to get involved, to become a mediator in this, when no-one else had listened.
"I don't want to see Quiggins leave, it's an integral part of the city.
"But they have to move out by July and what I've said is that we have to find a compromise of an interim site for them to move out to temporarily.
"If we don't they will lose and I don't want to see that happen - they have got good plans and I've told them that. Sometimes in business you've got to bite the bullet."
Daily Post
you're too right mate
27.03.2006 10:46
Fuckers.
nestor
Don't bash the rich
27.03.2006 13:41
No. Simply because they are too strong and too ignorant. There are hundreds of thousands of millionaires in the UK and millions who they could employ to defend them. If you are tempted by violent retribution, then you have to realise you won't take many of them with you, so you have to target and prioritise. Target your limited and desperate act to be as eductaional as possible.
Bash the war-mongering MPs not the soldiers. Bash the oil-profiteering chairmen not the pension-fund holders. Bash the vivisectionists before the meat-eaters.
And don't bash them, and don't torture them, kill them quickly and try to get away with it so that you can kill more of them. Targetted assasination is the only survival strategy for our species once mass nvda has failed - anything else is as meaningless and ineffectual as a drunken pub brawl. Killing a millionaire simply enriches their next of kin, it is like pissing yourself in black trousers, it gives you a warm feeling but nobody notices.
Widerstand
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