Joe and Christine Loughrell are fighting eviction from their family home of 30-years.
Joe was a resident caretaker for Lewisham Council for 35-years, having joined in 1971 and retired in 2006. Christine worked for the GLC and then London Corporation all her working life.
Joe worked in two other areas to start with, before the couple moved to their home in New Cross on January 7th, 1980, where they have brought up their family – a son and a daughter.
Joe will be 70 on 20th December, while Christine is a few years younger and has her birthday on December 25th.
Christine suffers from chronic asthma, which is worsened by stress, while Joe has had two cardiac arrests.
Lewisham Council is trying to evict them from their three-bedroom terraced house, and are threatening that if they continue to fight this then they face being made homeless.
Although they are both lifelong trade union members and continue to pay their dues to the GMB, the union has pulled the rug from under their feet just when they need it most.
There is a court hearing set for 22nd October at Bromley Magistrates Court.
Joe told News Line: ‘They’ve really put us through it for five years. We’ve tried to work hard all our lives. As resident caretaker, my duties were minor repairs, keeping the estate clean, ensuring lights were working, ensuring that windows and stairs were clean. I looked after three blocks of flats, containing 300 households.
‘I took pride in my job and tried to do it to the best of my ability. I felt and feel part of the community. Quite a lot of our neighbours, who are concerned about us have said that they would support us in every way and have suggested a petition.
‘They’ve said they would come along on the date of the court hearing in support as well.
‘We’ve been a bit concerned about a petition because we don’t want people to be knocking on the door and asking if our home is available. But maybe it’s a good idea.
‘We think they have promised our home to somebody already, because a family knocked at the door late in the evening one day and asked if it was vacant. We said, how can it be vacant? We live here.
‘All we want to do is to be left alone to live in peace and quiet, nothing more. I think after a lifetime working, that should be allowed.’
Christine said: ‘Our daughter has MS. She doesn’t live with us now. But when her husband is working in London they come and stay with us here. MS is a very distressing illness. The council’s response to being informed of this situation was that it is none of their concern.’
Joe said: ‘I started work aged 14 as a deck hand in the Merchant Navy.
‘When I retired as a resident caretaker on 19th December 2005, I thought it would be a simple thing. I was told to go to the rent office and get a rent card, which I did.
‘We started paying rent and thought no more about it.
‘Six months later, on June 19th 2006, they sent a letter saying they wanted to evict us.
‘We went to our union, the GMB and they said there’s no way they can do that.
‘The GMB replied to the eviction letter, and they also put us in touch with a solicitor and paid the fees.
‘It went quiet for a year, and then we got another eviction notice, and the solicitor dealt with that and it went quiet for another year.
‘Then we got a third eviction notice and the solicitor dealt with that also and it went quiet for another year. That brings us up to this year.
‘This year, Lewisham Council launched a hearing in Bromley Magistrates Court on 10th May. And in the run-up to this, the GMB pulled the rug from under us.
‘We received a letter from our solicitor saying your union has notified us that it is no longer prepared to fund your case, and we therefore cannot proceed.
‘The council then had the case adjourned because there were no witness statements, and they were also disputing whether our box room is a fourth bedroom. But the house is now classified as three-bedroom with a box room.
‘The case is now due to be heard at Bromley Court on 22nd October.
‘We’ve now got a private solicitor and we went with her to see a barrister last week. We spent two hours, costing us £1,300.’
Christine said: ‘I was the one who brought the GMB into the Corporation of London. I introduced the majority of the staff into the union. I recruited as many of the staff as I could into the union. Now I’m totally disgusted at the GMB letting us down in our hour of need.
‘I rang the GMB, and I asked why the union wasn’t funding us anymore and was told that when the solicitor went to the counsel for advice she was told there was a chance we may not win, and the union was not prepared to take the case further.
‘When I asked why the case was being dropped by the union just two weeks before the case was due to be heard the phone was put down on me.’
Joe said: ‘The council has offered us a one-bedroom flat in the bottom of a tower block.’
Christine said: ‘Last year they sent us a letter claiming we were £4,000 in arrears. It frightened the life out of us. Fortunately, we had kept copies of all the payments and proved them wrong.
‘There is some reason why they are not giving up on this house. I’ve a feeling that our house has already been promised to someone else.’
Joe said: ‘We’ve been married 46-years. When we were first married we filled in an application form for council housing and they put us on the waiting list. In the meantime, this job came up. It was only £18 a week, but we thought, at least we’ll get a home.
‘In total, up to 15 caretakers in Lewisham have been allowed to remain in their homes after they’ve retired, but they want this house.’
Christine said: ‘All my neighbours are my friends. To move out would be devastating. We’ve lived here for 30 years and we want to stay here for the rest of our lives. I feel suicidal. I’ve told them, they’ll have to take me out in a box.’
Joe and Christine’s neighbour, Adrian, said: ‘Everybody around here knows Joe. He always goes out of his way to help anybody. They call him holy Joe.
‘The policy of evicting people when their kids are grown up has to be changed.
‘Joe and Christine’s children come and stay regularly. I’m sure everybody around here will be outraged because of their popularity.
‘Joe should have stood for council years ago. He would have been voted in straight away because of his popularity. I want to help in anyway I can.’
The community should mobilise to support Joe and Christine in their fight, which is not just for themselves, but for all workers – to maintain the right to stay in their homes after retirement.
The GMB must be made to reverse its disgraceful decision and restore backing for these exemplary union members in their fight to defend their right to their home.
Lewisham council is carrying out the coalition government’s policy that tenants with ‘spare’ bedrooms must be forced to leave their homes, and should be evicted if they refuse.
This policy must be fought and defeated by the trade unions in alliance with tenants. A home must be for life!
