Grenfell – A Culture of Neglect

Council housing in Kensington and Chelsea is not organised in house,
But by a tenant management organisation, really a council mouse,
The TMO was cheaper, did nothing original and set no precedents,
And did not see coming, the fire that killed seventy-two residents,

The enquiry lasted nearly three years before the tenants were heard,
Builders, cladding manufactures and security experts were preferred,
The residents accused the council and the TMO of years of neglect,
But the council had no interest in a conversation, however imperfect.

Seven months before the disaster, a tenant’s blog predicted the fire,
The TMO said it was scaremongering, though the position was dire,
The writer was Edward Daffarm who lived on the 16th floor,
And he was certain the council and TMO were breaking the law,

His lawyer, said the TMO was a non-functioning amoral organisation,
Less interested in keeping flats safe than preserving its reputation,
Residents had told the council for months that they were terrified.
The council & TMO said Grenfell was fine; the tenants were petrified

In a 127-page statement Daffarn wrote of the contempt and neglect,
Shown by the council and TMO to the people they should protect,
There would only be change if there was an incident and loss of life,
The massive number dead; left an atmosphere to cut with a knife.

Fifty two of the hundred and twenty flats had a disabled resident.
But according to the TMO it was only ten, so they were hesitant,
Michael Mansfield QC said there was a lack of working fire doors,
To make matters worse many of the disabled lived on the top floors.

Lawyers for the dead called the fire a ‘landmark act of discrimination’
The friends and relations complained of the total procrastination
Remain in your flat in the event of a fire was the TMO’s advice,
The advice was rejected and the death toll smaller, to be precise

The ramifications from Grenfell have now spread across the land,
Using cheap materials and increased fire risk; go hand in hand,
Thousands of leaseholders living in possibly dangerous flats, in fear
Unable to afford to repair, unable to sell, another nightmare year.

©Michael Gold 2021

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