Another government spits on the memory of Grenfell victims and survivors

Grenfell Tower is to be demolished, according to deputy prime minster Angela Rayner. The decision has been met with fury and disappointment from survivors and their families.

Grenfell United released a blistering statement, writing:

Angela Rayner could not give a reason for her decision to demolish the Tower. She refused to confirm how many bereaved and survivors had been spoken to in the recent, short four-week consultation. But judging from the room alone – the vast majority of whom were bereaved – no one supported her decision.

The group are survivors and families of the bereaved in the Grenfell fire of 2017 which killed 72 people. They warned against ignoring those still impacted by the tragedy:

Ignoring the voices of the bereaved on the future of our loved one’s gravesite is disgraceful and unforgivable.

Travesty upon travesty

The fire and the subsequent inquiry have only uncovered more and more travesties. As the Canary reported in 2022:

The fire detection system in the tower was “defective” and, in fact, a local councillor tried to warn officials back in 2009 that fire safety measures in tower blocks were inadequate. After an onslaught of evidence showing a culture of carelessness, what did MPs do? They voted against amendments to a fire safety bill which would have placed a greater duty of care on those who own or manage multiple buildings.

The publication of the Grenfell Report in 2024 compounded the original problems that caused the fire. A Canary editorial read:

Ultimately the Grenfell fire was the culmination of years of institutionalised neglect, racism, classism, and discrimination against the predominantly low-income, Black, brown, and disabled residents of the tower.

Racism and classism were the ultimate cause of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Systemic inequality is behind the deaths of people in Grenfell. Since then, survivors and the families of the bereaved have suffered from the ongoing effects of government inaction. To now announce the demolition of the tower is a disgrace of catastrophic proportions. How much more pain must Grenfell survivors go through?

Anger over Grenfell decision

Housing campaigner Kwajo expressed disbelief over the decision:

I am so angry after reading the statement by Grenfell United tonight.

The Government had one job, make sure the Grenfell bereaved and survivors were fully a part of the consultation on the future of the tower, but more importantly their voices heard.

Clearly that hasn’t happened

Another commenter recommended leaving the tower up as a monument to corporate greed:

I had to go out to Latimer Road a month or so after Grenfell. Seeing the blackened and literally twisted skeleton of the tower was the most chilling moment of my life. Leave it as a monument to corporate greed and middle class privilege https://t.co/PG0P5LYrq7

— Phil Whomfield (@PhilWhomfield) February 5, 2025

David Osland pointed out that no one has taken any responsibility for the deaths:

Eight years after Grenfell, and still nobody has been charged with corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, perverting the course of justice or misconduct in public office. Out of sight, out of mind.

— David__Osland (@David__Osland) February 6, 2025

Others took the opportunity to remember what has been lost:

They never cared about the residents of Grenfell, all working class, lived in a tower block with non fire resistant cladding, being constantly let down and neglected, this is what capitalism is all about.

— 🇯🇲🇰🇳Jσҽყ (@Cjoeytami) February 5, 2025

Writer Gracie Mae Bradley made the compelling argument that if successive governments had listened to residents in the first place, nobody would have died:

refusal to listen to and fully engage with Grenfell residents is one of the reasons the fire happened.

it’s abhorrent that this govt has failed to properly consult bereaved and survivors on such an important question, while parrotting Cameron’s lines on the ills of “red tape”. https://t.co/HHyOJ8u5LU

— gracie mae bradley *is not here much. on bluesky!* (@graciemaybe) February 6, 2025

Canary columnist Rachel Charlton-Dailey echoed the thoughts of many – that demolishing the tower is an attempt to erase the tower from public memory:

One of the hardest parts of writing my book was about how disabled people were failed in grenfell. This feels like the government are trying to remove the tragedy from the public consciousness https://t.co/gbh6MeKuic

— Rachel Charlton-Dailey (@RachelCDailey) February 6, 2025

The legacy of Grenfell

The people who died at Grenfell were the victims of corporate manslaughter and institutional neglect. They died because they were poor, Black, and brown. It is a disgrace beyond words that even since their deaths seven years ago, their memory is still disrespected. Angela Rayner’s decision to demolish the tower without consulting Grenfell survivors and the bereaved is entirely in line with the reasons why the tower burnt in the first place.

The ruling classes keep making decisions that kill people, and they keep acting with impunity. We all have a responsibility to remember the reasons why the tower burned, and to understand the many instances of betrayal from the government since those tragic deaths.

We must refuse to let the people who died at Grenfell Tower be removed from public memory.

Featured image via the Canary