In my latest podcast episode, we hear about the ways that councils drive people in housing need to the brink. DWP does the same sort of thing with people who claim benefits.

This episode is the fourth about a family with a disabled and autistic 8 year old boy. Hackney council is trying to evict this family – with bailiffs – from their council home of 18 years.

The boy’s paediatric doctor is so concerned about the threat this eviction poses to the boy’s health that she’s making a safeguarding referral – ie she feels that the boy needs protecting from the council.

Meanwhile Kyla, the boy’s mother, says she is feeling suicidal because the council won’t stop calling and emailing to tell her to get out of her home of 18 years and to move her family into temporary housing.

Her daughter talks about her mother’s deteriorating mental health in this episode.

Harassment by bureaucracy, innit. Councils and the DWP are masters of it.

Update 12:30 10 Feb: Eviction resisted! Bailiffs turned up and left when they saw the London Renters’ union and Focus E15 people there. Very good work. Pity it comes to this. More soon

Update 10:30am 10 Feb: the bailiffs were supposed to turn up at 8am this morning. They’re over 2 hours late, so dragging that out painfully for the family.

Update 9 Feb: the court did not suspend the bailiff’s warrant, so this family will be evicted tomorrow. Another hanging judge for you there. This system is loaded.

I mean – for god’s sake.

My latest podcast episode below is about a family that is being evicted by bailiffs tomorrow.

They are being evicted by their own council – Hackney. So, that’s a council actively making a family homeless and threatening them with temporary housing.

The family hasn’t actually done anything hugely wrong. The mother’s name is not on the tenancy agreement and there are reasons for that, as I explain in today’s episode and last week’s one.

Hackney council could show discretion and grant the family a tenancy, or at least withdraw the bailiff’s warrant to give the family more time to sort things out – and even for the council to work with the family to sort things out. But no. Out they go.

There’s no excuse for this kind of aggression from councils. Lack of council resources is certainly no excuse. I’m sick of that one being trotted out.

The mother, Kyla, has a court hearing this afternoon to try and get the warrant suspended and the bailiffs stopped. If that doesn’t happen, they’re out of their home of 18 years and into the wonderful world of temporary housing.

You want to know why people hate Labour? Well, here’s another reason, in case you needed more. Which you probably do not.

Great week for bastards.