Abstract
This chapter explores the main neoliberal policy failures behind the devastating fire in June 2017 that engulfed Grenfell Tower, a public housing tower block in London, killing at least 71 people. The first section discusses the Thatcherite destruction of the post-war public housing model that built Grenfell Tower. The second section traces the damaging effects on fire safety and resident agency from decades of pro-business deregulation policies and ‘austerity’. The third section pf this chapter examines the wider urban processes of gentrification-based housing market restructuring. The conclusion argues that while the fire may have been accidental, Grenfell’s destruction was a contemporary form of what Engels called ‘social murder’, and must mark a radical turning point in policy-making towards restoring housing safety for all in law.
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