Anti-racism

National convention: Celebrate diversity, defend multiculturalism, oppose Islamophobia and racism

21st September 2011 Socialist Action 0

 

Speakers include:
Jack Dromey MP • Helen Goodman MP • Peter Hain MP • Claude Moraes MEP • Jean Lambert MEP • Farooq Murad, Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain • Edie Friedman, Executive Director, Jewish Council for Racial Equality • Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ General Secretary • Hugh Lanning, Dep Gen Secretary, PCS • Steve Hart, Political Director, Unite the Union • Megan Dobney, Regional Secretary SERTUC • Zita Holbourne, PCS NEC • Bob Lambert, co-Director, European Muslim Research Centre • Jody McIntyre, Journalist • Peter Oborne, Journalist • Dilowar Khan, Director, London Muslim Centre • Alaa’ Samarrai, VP Student Affairs, Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) • Kanja Sesay, NUS Black Students’ Officer • Nitin Sawney, Musician • Sabby Dhalu, Secretary, One Society Many Cultures • Denis Fernando, Lesbian and Gay Coalition Against Racism • Weyman Bennett, Joint National Secretary, Unite Against Fascism • Martin Smith, National Co-ordinator, Love Music Hate Racism

Photo: Conservative Middle East Council

Cameron turns to racism as government support drops

8th February 2011 Socialist Action 0

By David James

Anyone who wants to understand why Cameron chose to launch his attack on multiculturalism last week, to the delight of the English Defence League and other fascist groups, need only follow the daily tracker polls carried by YouGov – which are a useful resource. Cameron’s speech was an attempt to bolster Tory support by one of the oldest capitalist manoeuvres – attempting to promote racism to divert the population’s attention from the real problems that are affecting them.

Some truths about immigration

15th June 2010 Socialist Action 0

By Nicky Dempsey

The new coalition government in Britain has begun a process of attacking working class living standards through public spending cuts, slashing public services and reducing public sector pay, jobs and pensions. Meanwhile one of the dominant themes of the Labour leadership campaign is not an attack on this reactionary economic policy but a wholly ill-informed debate on immigration.

By blaming immigrants for the consequences of New Labour’s own economic failures, and completely distorting the real reasons for its defeat, two purposes are served. One is to forestall any proper debate about that defeat; the other is to set up immigrants in general, but especially poorer Eastern European and black and Asian immigrants, as the culprits within the widespread discontent about economic policy. For now, this is a narrative being created almost entirely by some of Labour’s leaders. But, as unrest grows at the consequences of the new government’s policies, it will no doubt be gratefully seized on to further channel working class anger towards reactionary rather than progressive solutions.

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Opposing fascism and the English Defence League

31st March 2010 Socialist Action 0

By Frances Davis

This Saturday the fascist English Defence League (EDL) will be demonstrating yet again, this time in Dudley in the West Midlands, to whip up racist hatred against Muslims. (See leaflet for UAF protest)

This follows a series of similar mobilisations by the EDL in the recent period, in Harrow, Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester , Stoke upon Trent and most recently in Bolton. On every occasion the EDL has sought confrontation, often violent – a flavour of what fascism represents, and what will happen if they get even the tiniest foothold in any part of society.

As the Unite Against Fascism (UAF) has pointed out, despite its attempts to present itself as a legitimate expression of  so-called ‘English patriotism’ and making the ludicrous allegation there is a need to oppose ‘creeping Islamification’, the EDL is in fact a violent, street fighting fascist organisation. The majority of the EDL’s so-called demonstrations have resulted in physical attacks, most recently in Bolton , where its demonstration was followed by a stabbing allegedly involving the EDL.