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Lincoln launches anti-BNP campaign

Lincoln Socialist Party held a public meeting on 16 August to build a coalition against the rise of the BNP and far right in our area. Over 30 people, including trade unionists, campaign organisations and local activists supported the initiative to launch Lincoln against Racism and Fascism.

Marc Glasscoe, Lincoln

Around six members of the BNP, armed with cameras and recording equipment, attempted to infiltrate and disrupt the meeting. They claimed that the BNP wasn't a racist party and was non-violent, but we made it clear that they weren't welcome and they were removed from the meeting. They then waited outside the meeting for two hours, clearly trying to intimidate people as they left.

There was wide-ranging and sometimes heated debate on how to take the campaign forward, from the need to look at the causes of the growth in support for the far right to calls for the new coalition to remain completely non-political!

Many speakers pointed out that this may not be possible given that we are launching a campaign to combat a political party. However everyone agreed that the Socialist Party had put a great deal of effort into ensuring this campaign got off the ground and we were congratulated on more than one occasion for taking the lead in getting the campaign moving.

A steering committee was elected, including three members of the Socialist Party. We made it clear that this must be seen as the beginning of a campaign of action against the far right, engaging with local communities in Lincoln and the surrounding area and taking the campaign to the streets. The finance appeal raised £70.

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