New publications from Past Tense

Past Tense have published six new pamphlets as below, five for sale and one FREE.

“They came out in October, but we've been so busy with one thing and another that we
haven't had much time to publicise them as yet.”

• BLACK WOMEN ORGANISING
The Brixton Black Women’s Group and the Organisation for Women of African and Asian Descent
£3.00 + £1.50 P&P
ISBN: 978-0-9932762-7-9

The Brixton Black Women’s Group, founded in 1973, emerged among women who had been active in the Black Power movement in London in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This pamphlet reprints two articles originally published in feminist journals in the 1980s - an interview with three Brixton Black Women’s Group activists about the development of the group, and an appraisal of the national Organisation for Women of African and Asian Descent.
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• RENT STRIKE: ST. PANCRAS 1960 Dave Burn
£3.00 + £1.50 P&P
ISBN: 978-0-9932762-5-5

In 1960 over 2000 council tenants in the then London borough of St Pancras went on partial rent strike, against a new rent scheme introduced by the Conservative council. This pamphlet recounts the causes and the history of the rent strike, examining the reasons the rent scheme was brought in, and the history of the tenants’ movement. A comprehensive but also compelling story of a community struggle, as well as a thoughtful analysis of its motives and possibilities.
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“MENACING LANGUAGE AND THREATS” The Anti Corn Law Riots of 1815
£1.50 + £1 P&P
ISBN: 978-0-9932762-4-8


At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, corn prices fell to nearly half their war level, causing panic among British farmers - many of whom were also voters. In response the government introduced the Corn Laws in 1815; banning cheap wheat imports, to ensure the high incomes of farmers and landowners.
This was class legislation at its most blatant. It made sure aristocrats could continue to benefit from high bread prices, and the high rents that they supported; knowing well enough this law meant penury for the poor, who relied on bread to stave off starvation.
Riots broke out in the area around Parliament as the Acts were being debated, and spread out around London and Westminster as the London houses of the MPs and lords held most responsible were targeted by crowds...

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• I HAVENT HAD SO MUCH FUN SINCE MY LEG FELL OFF The North London Civil Servants Strike, 1987/88 Jean Richards
£2.00 + £1 P&P
ISBN: 978-0-9932762-2-4

An account of a strike by low-paid civil servants across North London Department of Employment offices in 1988, also involving Job Centre and Department of Health & Social Security staff who came out in solidarity when they were asked to do the strikers’ work.

By a woman civil servant who worked for 10 years in one of the offices in dispute.

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THE ESTABLISHMENT VERSUS THE ROTUNDA!

£2.00 + £1 P&P

ISBN: 978-0-9932762-3-1

In the early 1830s a building on Blackfriars Road became the most notorious radical political meeting places of its era. For a few short years, the Rotunda was the heart of radical London. The Rotunda entered its golden age in 1830, when it was taken over by freethinker Richard Carlile, and was transformed into a centre of political and scientific education and theatrical anti-religious performances... It became home to diverse radical groups and speakers, including the National Union of the Working Classes, Robert Taylor (known as the “Devil’s Chaplain’), and female atheist lecturer Eliza Sharples, the ‘Pythoness of the Temple’.

The Rotunda was feared and hated by the political establishment, who saw it as influencing all radical and rebellious opinion. The reactionary Duke Of Wellington considered the battle for the future of society as one of “The Establishment Vs The Rotunda.”

[See also https://pasttenseblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/10/today-in-london-radical-history-richard-carlile-jailed-for-supporting-swing-rioters-1831/]

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• WE REMEMBER WAT TYLER A6 pamphlet
£1.00 + £1 P&P

The 1381 Peasants’ Revolt remains one of the most cataclysmic and inspiring events in British history. At its heart stands a figure of whom so littl4 is known… Wat Tyler. A man who appears for
two weeks, is elected leader of a peasant rebellion, articulates a demand for the abolition of classes, and is killed… Who was Wat Tyler?

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• TROUBLE DOWN SOUTH
Free (£1 P&P)

Some thoughts on gentrification & resistance to gentrification in Brixton, with historical digressions, experiences, and some ranting...

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And don't forget - the 2018 LONDON REBEL HISTORY CALENDAR is still available, it's not too late to order your coy for the year...
Only £6 plus £3 P&P

All of the above are available from Past Tense, either via our publicationspage
where you can pay by card or paypal

Or ooooold style by post from:
Past Tense, c/o 56a Infoshop, 56 Crampton Street, London, SE17 3AE

These publications will also soon be available from radical bookshops in London, and some good local independent bookshops and the odd caff too!
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