The Socialist 11 August 2009

Jobs & services - not bankers’ bonuses!

Jobs & services - not bankers' bonuses!

Stop the BNP

Vestas - occupation ends but the fight continues

Thomas Cook occupation, Dublin: "A living lesson for workers everywhere"

Postal workers: National ballot to follow strike wave

Protests flood in against Unison witch-hunt

August 1969: Northern Ireland explodes - 'the troubles' begin

New term approaching for students: Build the fightback!

Demonstrate Saturday 28 November in London

Higher education: Don't make young people pay for funding crisis

Internships = Exploitation

Grim prospects for young people

BNP loses council by-election

Racists left speechless

Anti-fascist demo in Birmingham

South Africa: A cold winter, but mass action shakes Zuma

Afghanistan: 40 years of failure?

Torturous explanation

Industrial action works

Defend Corus workers' terms and conditions

Liverpool street cleaners and bin workers strike against fat-cats

Surrey council must buy back these homes now!

Engineering construction ballot

Rail strikes

South Yorkshire bus drivers plan more strikes

Bryan Stanley's canonisation

Previous issues, etc

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Anti-fascist demo in Birmingham

THE ENGLISH Defence League, a split off from the BNP, and the linked 'Casuals United', said that they would march to the Bullring in Birmingham on Saturday 5 August, ostensibly to protest against "Islamic fundamentalism". In response around 600 people gathered to show that they could not peddle their racist and fascist filth.

The police threw a cordon round the counter-demonstration. At around 6pm it became clear that there was an outer cordon of police in riot gear. Having let some of the demonstrators through the inner cordon onto New Street the riot police baton charged the demonstrators. There were over 30 arrests and several people injured.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the city centre, 50 to 60 fascists had gathered in Victoria Square, where they were hemmed in by police. They were later allowed to march. Eyewitnesses say the fascists ran down Colmore Row throwing bricks.

Our Socialist Party leaflet was well received by anti-fascist demonstrators and local shoppers.