MORE than 3,000 Londoners marched through freezing rain at the weekend to bash Boris Johnson over his deals with private property developers.

The two blocs of March for Homes — one coming from east, the other from south London — assembled at the capital’s City Hall, where Mayor Johnson works.

Speaking at the Elephant & Castle start point, activist and University of the Arts student union president Shelly Asquith said: “This is about more than housing, this is about an assault on the welfare state.

“Rent caps and rent controls are a reasonable, not a radical demand,” she told cheering crowds.

Marchers did not let the two-mile walk through sub-zero temperatures dampen their spirits.

Loud cheers came from both blocs of the demonstration when they converged at Tower Bridge, with increasingly numerous and enthusiastic voices shouting “social housing is a right.”

Recently graduated student Maham Hashmi told the Star she came along because she feared being priced out of her Tower Hamlets council estate home.

“I’m kind of lucky as I’ve been in the same place for a long time so my rent hasn’t gone up as much as every house around me,” she added.

“All of a sudden you see all of the people that used to live there have to move out and all these other people coming in, and eventually it’ll be my turn as well.”

As recently reported by the Star, London rents have risen by 2.4 per cent over the last year.

According to the Chartered Institute of Housing and the Office for National Statistics, rents and housing prices across the country have gone up to unprecedented levels.

Many also felt the demonstration was a good way to unite all the campaigns fighting against the privatisation of social property and the gentrification of local communities.

Southwark Tenants group organiser Tom Gann said he had “met up with quite a lot of people, so I think that’s probably the most useful thing in terms of getting together quite disparate parts of the housing movement.”

He added that the demonstration also showed the government and local authorities how many people were against the housing crisis.

Hundreds squat flats slated for gentrification

A GROUP of up to 200 people occupied a former council estate block of flats on Saturday after breaking away from the March for Homes demonstration.

Part of south London’s Aylesbury Estate was taken over by a self-titled “squatters’ bloc” in protest over the erosion of social housing in Southwark borough.

The Aylesbury Estate, much like the nearby Heygate Estate, is currently slated for demolition to give space to a series of private “redevelopment projects” where flats can fetch up to £1,000,000.

Occupiers sent out a message on the day inviting people to join them and arguing they were “resisting social cleansing.”

Sociology lecturer at the London School of Economics and researcher on social housing Lisa McKenzie visited the occupation.

“The Aylesbury Estate, what a truly shocking environment — it has been run down, left to rot, and now it is being ‘sold off’,” she commented.

“It is a criminal act in my opinion that homes are being left, and that people are being forced out.”

“Apparently there is no money to bring this estate up to scratch, however the area is being redeveloped and there is always money from private developers to invest with the knowledge there will be a massive return as London’s property value continues to rise.”

“Rents soar in the private sector because estates like Aylesbury are closing, and pressure on housing is constantly building.”

“Working-class people who need social housing, and more importantly council housing, a resource which is publicly owned, are being forced out.

“This type of direct action is absolutely necessary.”

An occupiers and neighbours meeting was scheduled for Sunday afternoon to organise a campaign to save social housing in the area.