By David Furness
‘Tent villages’ have appeared in London. While some of the people living in these tents are British, most occupants are foreign. One such encampment, located just outside Warren Street Underground Station at the intersection of Tottenham Court Road and Euston Road, is depicted in the picture above. Euston Square Station is also just a short walk away. Some of the hotels within walking distance of this tent encampment charge between £250 and £600 per night.
Warren Street station is situated in the London Borough of Camden. This borough is home to several attractions, including Regent’s Park, Regent’s Canal, Little Venice, and the British Museum. Shaftesbury Avenue, a major road in London’s West End known as ‘Theatreland,’ runs partly through Camden and partly through Westminster. It is renowned for its 40 theatres.
So, the London Borough of Camden is an upmarket part of London. The other tent encampments in London are also located in upmarket areas. It’s no coincidence that these ‘homeless’ persons have set up their tents in these areas and not in downmarket London boroughs such as Tower Hamlets. The media has reported that James Williams, 37, formerly from Tower Hamlets, has been living in a tent for 2 months.
Tents have also appeared in other upscale areas, including on a central reservation on Park Lane near Hyde Park Corner and in the exclusive Mayfair district of Westminster. The Hilton Hotel is nearby.
Despite repeated efforts to clear the encampment in Park Lane, the tent dwellers persist. A spokesperson for Westminster City Council reported that Westminster has the highest number of rough sleepers in the country, with new individuals emerging daily, a situation that undoubtedly frustrates the authorities.
Most of these tent inabitants are expecting the local council to find accommodation for them. Therefore, it makes sense for them to pitch their tents in areas where they have been doing so, given the allure of being housed in a fashionable, desirable location.
This scenario raises an important question: What connection did the tent dwellers have with Camden or Westminster before they became homeless? Did they live or work in these areas? Were they born there? Do they have family in the vicinity? Since most of the tent dwellers are foreigners, the answers to these questions are likely a resounding No. Most British individuals living in tents are unlikely to have ties to Camden or Westminster.
Individuals who have set up tents in these areas may argue that they chose these locations due to the nearby transport facilities. However, there are numerous other sites in London with excellent transport links that would be more appropriate for pitching tents. Currently, these tents are situated on a narrow strip of grass next to a busy road, which is not an ideal setting. The presence of Deliveroo delivery bikes in these areas may provide one possible explanation for this choice.
Let’s not be gullible about the reasoning behind the chosen locations for these tent villages in London. Those foreigners who are residing there should be deported. Can we really believe that all the British individuals present have no family or friends to support them?
While I was at the encampment near Warren Street Station, I spoke with another observer who shared surprising information. He claimed that at least one of the British individuals living in tents has a full-time job and returns to his tent in the evenings and on weekends, even though he has accommodation available elsewhere. If this is true, it should be easy to verify. Do the British campers have bank accounts? If they do, they would have a registered address, allowing authorities to assess their connection to it.
There is another plausible reason why these ‘tent villages’ have emerged in affluent areas—it’s to create an eyesore! The idea is that wealthy and influential individuals will exert pressure on the local council or the government to clear the tents as soon as possible and find accommodation for the tent dwellers in a great location. This tactic can be seen as emotional blackmail,
Simply providing accommodation without carrying out any checks on tent dwellers and asylum seekers could encourage hundreds, if not thousands, to believe they can easily obtain desirable housing in London simply by setting up a tent on the side of the road. This potential abuse of the system calls for stricter regulations and thorough checks.
It’s wrong to refrain from asking difficult, unpopular, or challenging questions, especially in today’s woke political environment. In his proposed preface to Animal Farm, George Orwell wrote one of his most famous lines: “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
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