December 17, 2024 / December 17, 2024 by Carla Francome | Leave a comment
We had a really interesting meeting with Hackney Councillor Clare Joseph recently, who’s thought a lot about the importance of cash acceptance. “It’s a really big issue for people” she told us over a cup of tea. “It’s a big issue for my residents, and it’s an equality issue”.
We had read about Clare’s extensive efforts to protect people’s use of cash in her borough which she’s become well-known for, and Carla reached out to her on social media and asked if she would meet us. She read all about our campaign and then kindly agreed, despite being 35 weeks pregnant. She suggested a cafe in Islington’s Chapel Market that she knows takes cash. (If you’re after a great breakfast, with crispy hash browns to dip into perfect yolks, we can’t recommend Cafe Millennium highly enough!). Clare is a Councillor in Hackney’s Victoria ward, but met us in Islington between some pregnancy appointments.
“Cash is an issue that comes up a lot on the doorstep and in my surgeries” she told us. “It’s particularly important for older people and those on a lower income. In fact, I’ve found it’s often people who are more vulnerable who rely on cash, like immigrants who might not have a bank account yet. And these are all people who need more support, not to find out they’re penalised when cash isn’t accepted”.
Clare is very down to earth and easy to talk to, with sparkly eyes, a big laugh, and a kind heart. She clearly has a real sense of justice – that things should be fair, which we were very impressed by. We can imagine why her residents love talking to her. She also happens to be a natural beauty and spent time as an actress, so talking to her is a bit like sitting down with a down-to-earth version of Julia Roberts in a greasy spoon – absolutely ideal!
Clare’s passionate about underprivileged communities, and it was housing that first got her into politics. She grew up in social housing in Hackney, and believes that everyone should have a secure home they can afford. Before becoming a councillor, she set up a tenants’ association on her estate to try and get her and her neighbours’ views heard. It’s being a champion for those who don’t already have a loud voice that got her into politics. “I like to help people be heard. Some people are so good at being vocal. But for those who aren’t, I want to make sure their voice is out there too”.
We asked how she got thinking about coins and notes. “It was during lockdown”, she says. “Residents kept telling me on the doorstep and in my surgeries that it had become hard to pay for things in cash, which they found really frustrating and upsetting. It was particularly tough because prices were going up, and they were finding it harder to budget”.
Clare was inspired to look into it more. “People told me that when they were trying to make ends meet, and make sure an electricity or gas bill didn’t bounce, it was easier to deal in cash. If you’ve got loads of money, you might not worry about going overdrawn or a bill bouncing, so you can just tap away with a debit card without thinking. But for others, taking out cash and spending it carefully works better for them”.
Clare said she particularly remembers talking to a woman called Pat who’s chair of a local tenant’s association. “She told me how upset people were at not being able to pay in cash, and how hard it had become to just buy things like parking permits. I thought I had to look into all this further”. The more Clare thought about it and talked to people, the more important she realised cash was. “Children can’t learn the value of money through cards. And cash is also an issue for women with violent partners. If they’re trying to escape, bank accounts could reveal where they are, so they’re often trying to squirrel away cash so they can escape safely”.
The cash issue even turned up in Clare’s own family. Her father tried to buy a scarf for his daughter-in-law in a posh gift shop in Highbury, and they refused his cash. He doesn’t use cards, so had to leave empty handed. “My dad was already a bit out of his comfort zone walking into this gift shop to buy a ladies’ scarf, so I was furious to think he was turned away, it made him feel uncomfortable. It was as if his sort of money, money that suits a lot of us – cash, wasn’t good enough for them in this posh shop. And how is that right?”
Clare got out on the streets to talk to businesses in her ward and beyond. “It seems that often, those businesses catering for wealthier, middle class customers are turning cashless, whereas those aimed at more working class customers are still taking cash. It’s demonstrating a class divide and it is becoming an equality issue”.
Clare learnt a lot from going out and about talking to people, and we joined her for a walk around her ward one day. “I was pleased to see the local toy shop, The Toybox, took cash – they understood the importance of it for children” she told us while showing us around. “They have a range of lovely toys suitable for everyone on a range of budgets” she pointed out. “Everyone is welcome”.
We stopped to talk to the manager Loic to see what he thought. “Cash is really useful for the children who come in” he told us. “It’s good for their maths, and they like being in control of what they spend on what – it’s a good learning experience for them”. But Loic also said that it can be hard to deposit cash for businesses in parts of the UK, and he talked about the importance of bank branches staying open. And for it to be easy to deposit cash. (Whilst listening to Loic, we accidentally bought quite a few Christmas presents for kids while we were there – couldn’t help ourselves – it’s definitely worth a visit!)
We continued walking with Clare around her ward to hear more, and she told us something very interesting. “When I visited businesses that didn’t take cash, those behind the counter often told me they hated turning people away, especially older customers – they found it completely mortifying. It’s all being done to serve corporate interests, going cashless. I think there’s someone who’s made this decision in a head office somewhere who’s not dealing with the customer. I’d like to see them come and serve people for a day – see how they feel rejecting customers for using cash”.
In December 2022, Clare took a motion to full council about accepting cash, called #CashWelcomeHere. It said:
“This motion calls on the Labour Party to commit to a public debate and review on legal tender rules. It calls on Hackney Council to support and inclusive economy via a #cashwelcomehere campaign, encouraging local businesses and ensuring that council run facilities accept cash”.
The motion was passed, with broad support across political parties. And Clare has been working with the council to make sure their own facilities, like leisure centres, take cash.
In our first meet in the cafe, we got out our leaflets to give to Clare, and she produced one from her handbag, we were chuffed to see. It turns out we’d given it to one of her friends at Labour conference, who’d saved it for her. We were really touched to see she still had it. “I’ve been really looking forward to meeting you guys” she said. “It’s nice to talk to people who care about the same issues as me. I’m really passionate about this, so it’s good to talk to others who care about it too”. If it had been any further into December, we think we would have had a good old cry at this point, but we held it together.
It was great to connect and discover common goals, and we’re looking forward to some collaborations in the future with #CashWelcomeHere and the #CampaignForCash!
You can follow Clare on “X” here: https://x.com/MissClareJoseph