Red Clydeside: A history of the labour movement in Glasgow 1910-1932

Events

More trouble brewing for the working class, 13 Feb 1915

This article in the socialist newspaper 'Forward' forewarned of trouble ahead for many working class tenants who rented their homes from Glasgow landlords. The article informed its largely socialist readership that Glasgow landlords were planning to increase rents to help cover the losses they were incurring in maintaining un-let properties.

These proposals were quickly dropped by the landlords when the potential for bigger profits presented itself to them in the shape of the huge demand for housing in the munitions districts of Glasgow. This demand meant that that the previous problem of un-let properties quickly disappeared to be replaced by an opportunity to raise rents for much in demand properties.

In respects of warning of conflict ahead on the issue of housing the authors of this article were not wrong. Within six months of this article being written rent strikes in all of the main munitions districts of Glasgow were to directly effect upwards of 20,000 tenants who where involved in the campaign of non-payment of rents.