Celebrating the centenary of the 1921 Poplar rates rebellion.
Submitted by Janine on
One hundred years ago, a big movement grew in the east London borough of Poplar, headed by thirty councillors who went to prison rather than levy extortionate rates or cut services to the working-class population that elected them. ‘Poplarism’ won.
Why did Poplar win? Here are ten key points, which contain lessons for today.
Submitted by Janine on
Published in Solidarity 588, 14 April 2021
Long before ‘Black Friday’ became the name for the first day of the Christmas shopping season, it was the name that the labour movement gave to the day on which trade union leaders inflicted a defeat on their own movement. It happened exactly one hundred years ago, on 15 April 1921.
Submitted by Janine on
- a discussion and comparison of and commentary on tactics then and now - 1921 and 2021
One hundred years ago, the Labour council of the east London Borough of Poplar went to prison rather than inflict cuts or rate rises on its impoverished population. Poplar Council won.
Submitted by Janine on
Published by Women's Fightback 25, Winter/Spring 2021
Our story is set just after the first world war in Poplar, an east London borough with a population of 160,000 people crammed into the docklands in the bend of the River Thames (Poplar) and the area just north of it (Bow).
Submitted by Janine on
Janine gave this illustrated online talk about the Poplar Rates Rebellion for the TUC Tolpuddle Radical History School on 12 January 2021.
Submitted by Janine on
Back in 2009. Docklands publications The Wharf published this review of Janine's book, 'Guilty and Proud of it: Poplar's rebel councillors and guardians 1919-1925'.
Submitted by Janine on
In 1921, thirty Labour Councillors in Poplar went to prison to protest at an unfair rating system that penalised poor boroughs. They eventually won their fight. Here are the parting messages from the Councillors (well, most of them, anyway) as printed in the Daily Herald on 1st September 1921, the date that arrests began.
Submitted by Janine on
How did Labour win big in the local elections after the First World War, and why did this lead to the rates crisis in Poplar in 1921?
About this Event
Submitted by Janine on
Janine Booth tells the story of a working-class borough’s fightback against austerity and thirty councillors who went to prison for refusing to levy rates that their citizens could not afford to pay. Celebrate the centenary of an inspiring struggle which holds lessons for today.
Submitted by Janine on
Five Leaves bookshop, publisher of Janine's biography of Minnie Lansbury, interviews Janine about writing, lockdown, politics, motivation and lots more. Warning: may contain book extracts and poetry.
