Dodging the demolition

Before 1975 they were known as the International Labour Party and have been well archived by the London School of Economics and the Working Class Movement Library.  Consultation with colleagues and on site staff suggested that it may be worth investigating what was in the house before it was finally pulled down.   On arriving I realised much had already been removed by the ILP itself and others, on top of that the workmen had already started stripping out cables and pipes so there was quite a bit of damage. The window of opportunity to save the material was narrow but with the help of colleagues across the University we managed to get several boxes transfered into our special collection before the house was due to come down.

Although initially disappointing some of the material definitely was worth saving, especially bearing in mind our existing collection relating to the Cooperative movement.  The material has the potential to offer both a contrasting and complimentary view of socialism and related concerns, and certainly opens up the range of material in our collection.

The house despite the urgency to remove the material is still standing, gaining a brief reprieve. The demolition apparently halted, despite all the houses in the row being vacated,  by a lone trader selling pizzas.