Nigel Smith
Following the tragic murder of three children at a dance class in Southport last week, there has been a spate of far-right riots and demonstrations across the UK. Tommy Robinson, and other far-right figures have used this event to fuel racist and anti-migrant feeling by falsely claiming that the murderer of the three children was a recent immigrant and a Muslim. It was later revealed that the murderer was in fact a seventeen year-old male, Axel Rudakubana. It has emerged that Rudakubana was born in Cardiff and was from a devout Christian family.
Neither of these facts will prick the consciences of the promoters of this violence, who have cynically used this event to increase the profile of what had previously been a disorganised and divided neo-fascist presence in the UK. The fact that far-right demonstrations have, in many cased failed to be adequately countered by the Left is cause for concern. Previously, far-right demonstrations were, in general, successfully met and outnumbered by counter protests. The effective use of social media by the far-right has shown that they are able to bring out onto the streets a large percentage of their forces far more quickly and effectively than the Left.
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Over 35 rallies organised by the far-right took place on Friday and across the weekend. On Friday a mosque was attacked in Sunderland and a Citizen’s Advice Bureau was burned to the ground. Hotels and hostels housing asylum-seekers were targeted and in Hull a hotel housing asylum-seekers was attacked and shops in the high street were looted. In Liverpool a “Save our Children” rally resulted in violence and looting. In Manchester however, a counter rally of 350 people outnumbered the far-right by more than two to one. In London, on the previous Saturday (July 27th), the far-right was able to mobilise about 15,000 for a rally in Trafalgar Square. Even though this is not a large demonstration by UK standards, the counter demonstration could muster only about 5,000. The character of this demonstration was clearly Islamophobic and racist and when the crowd was asked how they had voted in the recent general election most responded by indicating they had voted for the far-right Reform Party. While this is taking place, Nigel Farage, the head of Reform, is fuelling tensions still further by citing the cause of the violence as “mass uncontrolled immigration”, a clear attempt to tacitly excuse the violence. When Labour MP Ian Byrne, speaking to a crowd in Liverpool, blamed 10 years of austerity and the right-wing media for the troubles he was closer to the truth, but it is ironic that he doesn’t see the planned continuation of austerity by the Labour government as sickeningly paradoxical. A right-wing position by Labour on immigration and Keir Starmer’s clear anti-Palestinian support for Israel during the Gaza War has enabled the far-right to gain confidence in their ideas.
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The slow response by the Left to these racist demonstrations also indicates disorganisation on the Left. Stand Up to Racism is present at many of the counter-protests but is unable to mobilise its forces quickly and doesn’t have a strong enough presence in the trade unions or working class to represent significant forces. The people of the UK have concerns around immigration foisted on them by all the major political parties including Labour as well as right-wing media. However, these same people are in general anti-racist and their thinking is more liberal on this issue than the ruling elite. There remains however a worrying level of institutionalised racism and pockets of far-right ideology. Tory politician Donna Jones, Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner since 2021, sought to excuse the violence. In a now removed statement said the protests focussed on “the desire to protect Britain’s sovereignty” and “the need to uphold British values”, asking the government to find a solution to, “mass uncontrolled migration”. Such statements shine a flashlight on the true views of many in positions of power and some of those responsible for UK policing.
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The Left is divided and now more than ever needs to counter the far-right. It needs to build the fight against austerity via a new party of the working class as well as build better collaboration between Left parties and organisations in the antiracist/antifascist struggle. The trade unions need to wake up to the fact that Reform poses an existential threat to the cosy relationship the trade unions have with the Labour Party. Labour’s position on immigration clearly contradicts the positions of the Trade Union Council and unions such as the PSC and Unite.
For ten months now there have been peaceful demonstrations in support of the Palestinian cause. People around these events need to see these attacks as part of an attack on them. Many Muslims attend and organise the protests and many have left the Labour Party because of its position on Palestine. These people need to join the fight for a new worker’s party and stand behind the counter-demonstrations. The trade unions should be visible as part of this. They should help organise stewarding for counter-demonstrations and have their banners prominent on all such events. The building of a new political force would undercut the far-right. Youth and workers would see that fighting for class unity and solidarity could lead to a better future for us all.
