lang: en
Summary
In 1915, working-class women in Govan, Glasgow, led a rent strike against profiteering landlords who raised rents during a housing shortage. The campaign, organized by Mary Barbour and the South Govan Women’s Housing Association, used refusal to pay increased rent, protests, and direct action to prevent evictions. The result was the Rent Restriction Act, though the original goal of municipal housing was not achieved and the law weakened over time.
Background
Since 1885, housing was a major concern for Glasgow residents, especially those in tenements. An influx of about 70,000 new residents in the three years before 1915, combined with fewer than two thousand new tenements, made Glasgow the most overcrowded city in Britain. Landlords raised rents to exorbitant rates and evicted tenants who could not pay, confident they could re-let at higher rates [source: nv-database].
What happened
A rent strike began in Govan in March 1915 when a landlord tried to evict a soldier’s wife over a one-pound debt; hundreds of neighbors, led by John Wheately of the Independent Labour Party, blocked evictors from entering the apartment [source: nv-database]. Mary Barbour, who joined the ILP in 1896, organized women who stayed home during the day to lead protests and defend neighbors against evictions, holding meetings in participants’ homes [source: nv-database]. On one occasion, Barbour and her supporters went to an eviction agent’s home and demanded the return of rent money paid under deception; intimidated by the crowd, he returned the money [source: nv-database]. Women used a sentry system: a woman would ring a bell upon seeing an eviction agent, and neighbors would gather with makeshift weapons like flour bombs, rotting food, and wet clothes to deter evictions [source: nv-database]. Protesters wore their ‘Sunday clothes’ to appear respectable and wore cards on their chests stating grievances, such as ‘Partick Tenants’ Strike… [source: nv-database] We are fighting the Prussians of Partick’ [source: nv-database]. By November 1915, about 20,000 households were on strike. [source: nv-database] On 17 November, the city cited 49 strikers; thousands gathered outside the courthouse and demonstrated all day, leading the city to drop all charges [source: nv-database]. On 25 November, a bill restricting rent increases was introduced and quickly won parliamentary approval [source: nv-database].
Key people & organizations
- Mary Barbour
- John Wheately
- William Reid
- South Govan Women’s Housing Association
- Scottish Labour Housing Association
- Glasgow Women’s Housing Association
- Independent Labour Party
Tactics used
The campaign combined a rent strike (refusal to pay increased rent) with direct action to block evictions, using creative nonviolent methods like flour bombs and noisemakers. Framing the struggle as fighting ‘Prussians of Partick’ linked local grievances to the wartime context, building solidarity and legitimacy. [source: nv-database]
Outcome
Verdict: partial.
The campaign achieved its immediate goal with the Rent Restriction Act, but the law was continually weakened in following months and years, and the original goal of Municipal Housing was not achieved [source: nv-database]. Thus the outcome is partial.
Lessons
- Organizing women who are at home during the day can sustain a long-term campaign when male workers are prohibited from striking.
- Using visible, respectable presentation (e.g., Sunday clothes) can help counter negative stereotypes of protesters.
- Creative nonviolent tactics like flour bombs and noisemakers can make evictions so unpleasant that authorities give up.
Sources
- Global Nonviolent Action Database —
[[nv-database]]
Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.
Sources & verification
nv-database— grounding: primary — license: link-only- Rewritten: 2026-06-25 via
worker_casestudies_v2.py