By ISL
A long list was produced on the Telegram messaging app and then circulated widely on social media by the far right, of asylum advice and support centres and immigration lawyers’ offices, in towns and cities across the UK targeted for attack and arson. The date time specified was Wednesday 7 August 8 p.m. Fearing a repeat of the racist violence and rioting that the country experienced in the past week, offices and shops were boarded up and closed, and theatre performances were cancelled in fear of being caught in the mayhem.
Despite calls from the government and police to stay away, many thousands of anti-fascists and anti-racists mobilised from across different sections of their local communities, including trade unions, to stand together and defend the people and the buildings targeted. In a powerful show of unity against racism and Islamophobia, thousands mobilised in Liverpool, London, Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham, the fascists were defeated and if any did turn up, they were an insignificant presence.
On Saturday August 3, across the country the police failed to defend anti-fascists and the towns and cities being rampaged by the far right and fascists, who looted, burnt destroyed everything in their path, attacked black and brown people and terrorised communities. It was this failure that forced community members, anti-fascists and trade unionists to begin to organise their own self defence. Thousands of people gathered in force: Bristol 7000, Walthamstow, London 7000, Finchley, London 3000, Liverpool 1500, Sheffield 1500, Brighton 2000, Manchester 500 – carrying home-made reading ‘No to racism,’ ‘Refugees welcome,’ ’Nans against nazis,’ and many more asserting community solidarity and hatred against racism and support for immigrants, alongside trade unionists who brought banners from RMT, FBU, Unite, PCS, Unison and UCU. Inside the mass defence were many 100s of trade unionist across the country.
Labour’s role
The racist riots of the past week have provided the Labour government with a green light to ‘legitimately’ impose greater surveillance policies, upholding previous Tory plans. Starmer’s proposal for an expansion in the use of live facial recognition technology has been criticised as essentially being the introduction of a national ID card system based on people’s faces. And furthermore, facial recognition does not make people safer, it shows bias for people of colour and will entrench discrimination further.
Starmer also announced the introduction of a Violent Disorder Unit which will have the potential to prevent protest, including anti-racist protests, Palestinian protests, environmental protests, strikes and pickets. We are facing rising discontent and anger over further cuts to services, increasing child poverty, increasing inequality and people struggling to cope. Denying the right to protest will be essential for the bourgeoisie to control working class anger and allow capitalism to flourish!
Calls to define the rioting as ‘terrorism’ to be prosecuted under counter terrorism laws should be resisted and opposed, along with measures proposed above by Starmer. These measures will result in even greater surveillance and the further removal of basic rights, once in place the extent of application will go far beyond policing far-right rioting.
Far-Right
Nigel Farage and his party Reform UK, gain attention and votes by spreading hate and fear around asylum seekers and immigrants, but they alone are not to blame for fomenting racism, their incendiary language has been in general use by the Tory party throughout 14 years of government. The scapegoating, demonising and criminalisation of immigrants has been incessant by all parties and supported and amplified by the media. Even now, Labour fails to tell the truth about immigration, as they maintain tough talk about forcefully deporting people.
Small groups of fascists are able to connect the anger many young people who are socially and economically deprived, they are angry because they feel they have no future, and angry against their living conditions. They tap into this discontent and feed their anger towards racist lies and racist misinformation about what is being taken from them by asylum seekers and immigrants which is further validated by government rhetoric and policy, the mainstream and social media, portraying asylum seekers as the source of all social and economic problems.
After the violence Farage raised the ridiculous idea that two-tier policing, previously unheard of, is widespread – coming down hard on the right and being soft on Black Lives Matter and Palestinian demonstrations (all of which are peaceful). As ridiculous as this is, unsurprisingly the media began to pick up on this and run with it, despite acknowledging that this was not right wing ‘protest’ but racist and Islamophobic violent rioting and do not equate!
Unions and youth take the lead build the fight including self-defence committees
Workers and youth can advance in defeating fascist as they did on August 7, and as they have in the struggle for Palestine. Workers must demand the trade unions lead the fight against the acute problem of unemployment, poverty, low pay, precarious work, poor housing, welfare and health service cuts – which affect a multicultural working class.
Workers must demand the trade unions build their fight against fascists by organising with our youth and forming anti-fascist committees and establishing a firm worker and youth alliance. The union leaderships must organise the anti-fascist committees for self-defence and take these demands to the rank and file and mobilise.
The union and youth led anti-fascist committees must seek training for the masses and among the vanguard in boxing and jujitsu academies and seek equipment for basic defence such as shields, at the same time finding specialists to train a front line.
We need trade unions, organising from the base, to build and lead demonstrations and movements, in the regions and nationally, to invite all who are fighting racism and fascism, for Palestine, for real action on the climate, for socialist feminism, for LGBTQ+ rights and demand an end to austerity and restoration of all cuts.
Build union and youth anti-fascist committees!
Mobilise union rank and file!
