HUNDREDS of Glaswegians gathered yesterday to unveil a new memorial to rent strike pioneer Mary Barbour.

The leftwinger led Glasgow’s campaign against unscrupulous private landlords who took advantage of high demand for housing during the first world war.

Rents skyrocketed as thousands of workers flocked to Glasgow’s shipyards and munitions factories, but Barbour fought back by leading a rent strike by 20,000 tenants in 1915.

At the International Women’s Day event, activists gathered at Govan Cross to hear speeches from politicians, activists and trade unionists, as well as live music. Three hundred schoolchildren took part by pulling red cloths off the sculpture.

Former Glasgow MP Maria Fyfe, who led the campaign to commemorate Barbour, said the activist had “led many thousands of women to victory against the greedy landlords.”

The rent strike led to a change in the law, which held rents down nationwide for the rest of the war.

Barbour went on to be elected as a Labour councillor in Glasgow and helped set up the city’s first family planning centre.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard told the Star: “Mary Barbour is a shining example of a woman prepared to take on private landlordism and in so doing had more of an impact than many MPs do over many years.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was “delighted that Mary Barbour will be honoured with a statue” and, while she was unable to attend the event because of parliamentary commitments, she “looked forward to seeing it very soon.”

Feminist historian Louise Raw said: “What’s particular lovely is the statue rightly celebrates not just her but all the women, men and children who joined the fight against exploitative landlords.”