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In 1972, the Conservative government of Ted Health introduced the ‘Fair Rents Act’ which sought to push up rents for council house residents. Labour councillors in Clay Cross knew that working class people could not afford to pay the new rents and voted to refuse to implement the increases. As a result, the councillors were taken to court, surcharged and disqualified from office. Their stand became a symbol of resistance to Tory  attacks, attracting solidarity from all over the country.  Rob Sewell talked to one of those councillors involved, John Dunn, about the struggle and the lessons it has for those fighting the Tory cuts in 2011.