Nigel Smith
On Saturday March 28th over 500,000 marched in London against the far right in a demonstration organised by the “Together Alliance”. The Alliance has brought together a swathe of organisations and significantly secured the support of major trade unions and other bodies and political parties. The event was a response to the far-right event in London last year which attracted up to 150,000.
The main actor in this event, with a strong presence, was Stand up to Racism SUTR – an organisation that takes a politically neutral stance except towards parties and organisations that it sees as far right or fascist. It is disappointing that SUTR continues to refuse to criticise the Labour Party and there were two Labour Party MPs speaking from the platform as well as the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. Other speakers included Zak Polanski, the Leader of the Green Party. Polanski gave a well-received rhetorical speech, but what he actually said, was politically revealing. He made a point of appealing for support at the local elections in May. He also stated that the Greens would only nationalise the water companies – not the energy companies and presumably any other public service. This policy was recently passed at the highly selective Green Party conference where it was agreed to go back on the previous policy of wider nationalisation. This policy reveals that since the Green Party’s recent growth, with many who would call themselves socialists joining the Greens, it has, under Polanski’s leadership moved to the right.
Polanski was treated as the headline act by most of the media outlets and although Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana also spoke there was little reference to their contributions and a mention of their presence was notably absent from the Socialist Worker’s Party’s reports. It appears that the SWP has walked away from the Your Party project, taking its foot soldiers with it. Furthermore, in the most recent edition of its newspaper it states that “The far right is growing out of the mainstream parties that have devastated working class people’s lives with neoliberalism and austerity. This leads some on the left to argue that austerity is the main driver of the far right and to focus on Farage’s pro-rich policies.” The SWP appears to hold that racism is deeply embedded in British society. It argues that…”racism is the glue that holds Reform UK’s narrative of “British decline” and we have to break people from the lie that migrants are to blame.” This position sidelines the economic drivers of racism and also exaggerates the strength of racist ideology across British society. There is evidence that antisemitism and Islamophobia are increasing, although not other forms of racism. These attitudes are affected by the material conditions of people’s lives as well as the increasingly -right migration policies of the Labour government which imitate those of Reform and therefore confuses the consciousness of ordinary people, who would themselves claim to be anti-racist.
The Socialist Party was taking a far better position, including with regard to the current crisis in the Your Party project. As reported previously, a Corbyn-lead minority group has recently taken control of the Your Party apparatus. The Socialist Party calls for a class approach and for trade unions to take a key role in the formation of a new party of the working class. On the platform on Saturday was the recently elected leader of UNISON (public sector workers) one of the Uk’s biggest trade unions, Andrea Egan. She spoke directly in criticism of the Labour Party’s policies of “enabling racism”. This is an encouraging sign that UNISON is moving away from its previously held position of un-critical support for Labour. UNITE is also seriously looking at ending its support for Labour and other unions may follow.
The SWP’s response to the local elections in May is for negative campaigning against Reform. It would seem clear that standing independent socialist candidates would be more effective. This would give disillusioned voters an alternative to the current major parties. Negative campaigning can result in negative responses from the electorate. People don’t like being told they are stupid or racist and that they don’t understand the issues. It is much better to provide them with an alternative political choice. This alternative choice should have an economic basis, reflecting socialist ideas. This doesn’t mean a complicated mix of arguments. The Green Party and Reform’s messaging is clear and simple. Reform for example includes only three points in its political messages. Firstly, that the candidate is an ordinary person, even when they are clearly not. Secondly that they will cut taxes, even when they won’t. Thirdly that there is a problem with migration, even when there isn’t. The left needs to get its messaging clear as well – messaging based on truths.
There is an attempt to build a mass movement on the left of British politics. The support of prominent cultural figure including actors and musicians is to be welcomed. There is a plan to hold another demonstration in May, but occasional set-piece demonstrations are not the answer. A political alternative to the current system needs to be urgently built and the groups that have come together via the Your Party project, need to stay together and work in their communities and trade unions to combine their energies into a radical alternative political choice.
