Living in the "ll-electric alcatraz" : fuel poverty in 1970s British social housing

Using the example of Hunslet Grange, a social housing estate in 1970s Leeds, this article examines how its tenants increasingly lived in conditions that became known and politicised under the label of fuel poverty and how this served as a manifestation of the shortcomings of British social housing policies of the 1960s and the promises of comfort and higher living standards on which it was based. To this end, the article looks at the experiences, perceptions, and practices of the residents of Hunslet Grange who were confronted with high energy costs. It then situates their everyday lives and problems in dealing with high energy costs within a broader public discourse on social housing, energy costs, and welfare in Britain in the 1970s.