A brief history of squatting in the UK
Although there is evidence of squatting back in the Middle Ages, it is with the Enclosure Acts - the fencing off and privatisation of common land - that it really flowered. During this time, Gerrard Winstanley and the Diggers, motivated by the idea that the land; -Is everyone's, but not a single one's - occupied and cultivated common land.
In 1898, a squatted anarchist settlement grew in Gloucestershire, where they burnt the title deeds to the land. Meanwhile up North, the so-called 'Land-grabbers' squatted disused property, where they grew fruit and vegetables. Though hierarchical in structure, they shared food and embraced communal living. Sadly, many of the above groups of squatters were subject to campaigns of harassment.
However, a new wave of squatting occurred after the Second World War, which gained far greater public support. When servicemen returned from battle, they had nowhere to live. The construction of houses had been put on hold during this period, and with the destruction of many homes through aerial bombing, there was a severe shortage of shelter in the UK. Adamant that they had not fought in the war only to have themselves and their families lumped in the notorious workhouses, they began squatting empty holiday homes on the South coast. In time, empty buildings across Birmingham, Liverpool and London, disused schools, stadiums, hotels, and in the West end, luxury apartments, were all being squatted.
This soon evolved into a mass reoccupation of army camps, in which families established a system of communal catering and nurseries, women played a greater role, and a sense of freedom and optimism grew. By October 1946, nearly 40,000 people had occupied over 1,000 disused bases. The authorities were made to acknowledge this and turned the water and electricity supplies back on.
Since the days of World War Two, the squatting movement has grown alongside the decline in affordable housing. Socialists, anarchists, communists, and even some members of the three dominating political parties alike have all embraced squatting, with many seeing it as a challenge to the fundamental issue that is capitalism. After all, in the words of Winstanley; - The poorest man hath as true a title and just right to the land as the richest man.