London Socialist Historians Group

Paul Burnham, "The Squatters of 1946".

Paper presented at the New Socialist Approaches to History seminar, Institute of Historical Research, February 23rd, 2004

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All over Britain in the summer of 1946 homeless families squatted in camps left disused by the armed forces, and in offices and empty blocks of flats. This was direct action over the most pressing social issue of the day. Domestic politics was shaken, and for a moment “the government feared widespread disorder… an outbreak of direct action which could have spread like a prairie fire.” The squatters’ movement in Britain was part of an international wave of struggles caused both by the social dislocation of war and by high expectations for the future.

My interest in the postwar squatters has grown from my involvement as a trade unionist, socialist and tenant activist. This project will investigate the politics and dynamics of the housing question in the post-war years. As well as the critical five weeks in the summer of 1946 when mass squatting began, I will also look at the evolution of the camps over the following decade. I will consider too the relationships between the squatters and the Polish troops who were placed alongside them in many of the camps.