Thousands Say, We Won't Pay!

Thousands Say examines the political history of the tenants movement on Merseyside during a period of heightened social tension in order to understand the complex characteristics of working class struggles centred on living as opposed to working spaces. The historical detail unearthed from a variety of original sources explains the militancy of the tenant population in terms of both the political traditions of the wider movement and the social and cultural background to the region's economic decline. In the grassroots and community origins of most organised action, it finds a conflict between the spontaneity of struggles located in urban spaces and the structured political organisation at the heart of the labour movement. In illuminating the difficulties of organising political resistance from a condition that is socially and politically marginal, the book offers fresh and valuable insights into the political life of urban communities.