After thousands rally with Tommy Robinson
Paula Mitchell, Socialist Party Executive Committee
Many people will be alarmed at the size of far-right Tommy Robinson’s national rally in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 27 July, in the name of “Uniting the Kingdom”. Racist and Islamophobic chants and speeches rang out.
Figures like Robinson feed off the anger of people driven down by poverty and the crisis in services and housing after 14 years of austerity. But at the core of the movement Robinson is trying to build are hardened racists and fascists. His rallies include football hooligans and others getting drunk and looking for a fight.
Far from benefiting white workers, the division he tries to create among working-class people would make it easier for the bosses and their pro-capitalist political parties to rule, and drive all workers’ living standards even further into the dirt. He must be opposed.
A counter-protest was organised by Stand Up to Racism (SUTR). Many anti-racist activists and trade unionists participated, but it was much smaller than the turnout at the far-right rally.
If any far-right group plans to march through local communities it is vital that they are met by counter-demonstrations, and preferably prevented from marching at all. Otherwise, there is a risk they will intimidate and threaten people in the community. Protests that mobilise the strength of the trade unions and local communities can demoralise far-right groupings and send them packing. Socialist Party members have been prominent in such local mobilisations, such as in Walthamstow, Leicester and other areas, that have successfully stopped the far right.
But when there is a big turnout at a far-right protest in central London, to lead a much smaller counter-demo into close proximity to it, with low levels of stewarding, relying on the police for protection, can pose unnecessary risks to the safety of participants. Unfortunately, on Saturday an anti-racist protester was attacked.
On the same day, there was a London Trans Pride demonstration taking place just a mile and a half away.
Trade unionists in London, supported by the Socialist Party, issued a statement which proposed a different approach to that taken by the organisers of SUTR – one that would have both enabled a counter-protest to Tommy Robinson and also offered concrete solidarity and defence of an event that could be at risk of attack.
The ‘Statement on the need for practical trade union solidarity with London Trans Pride’ can be seen at socialistparty.org.uk.
It argued: “We know that Tommy Robinson is reported to back protests against Drag Story Times. Even if there is no official call, it is possible individuals or groups could identify Trans Pride as a target for attack on the day.
“This statement is an appeal to Stand Up To Racism, in consultation with London Trans Pride, to change the route of their march and instead go directly from Russell Square to the London Trans Pride assembly point. This means we can provide practical solidarity in the form of an anti-fascist contingent and stewards to supplement the existing Trans Pride stewarding plans.”
Unfortunately this approach was not adopted by the SUTR organisers.
When figures like Tommy Robinson are able to mobilise so many, it is vitally important that we have an open and honest debate about how best to combat the far right.
Speakers at the SUTR rally included Jeremy Corbyn and assistant general secretary of the RMT rail union Eddie Dempsey. Both rightly stated that it is not enough to just march against racists and fascists but it is necessary to fight on the issues that can breed support for those ideas. Eddie Dempsey said “we must fight on the class issues” of poverty, jobs, homes and services.
Keir Starmer’s Labour government is clear. It intends a continuation of austerity: an NHS crisis, a lack of affordable housing, huge cuts to council services, and poverty.
It is reported that the crowd in Trafalgar Square was asked who they voted for and overwhelming the answer was Reform. This is a warning of the danger of right-populist, racist forces stepping into the vacuum as anger with the Labour government grows.
The massive strike wave in 2022-23 showed the huge potential power of the working class to fill that vacuum with the fight for the pay, jobs, homes and services we all need. Standing up to racism is not separate from that.
Preparing a serious fight on these issues would also enable the trade unions to mobilise much bigger numbers when needed on anti-racist demonstrations, especially if the slogans of the demonstrations were clearly linked to those class issues.
Part of that should also be a serious approach to stewarding. The Socialist Party has long argued for proper stewarding, including calling on the unions to provide stewards. We welcomed the decision in 2018 of RMT members in London, including Eddie Dempsey, to start compiling a stewards list from their ranks, appealing to other unions to join it. That approach should be adopted again.
And the vote for Reform also is a warning of how vital it is to build a working-class political voice that fights for socialist policies. Eddie Dempsey was one of the instigators of Enough is Enough in 2022, along with RMT general secretary Mick Lynch and general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) Dave Ward. At the height of the rail and postal strikes, Enough is Enough attracted half a million people, many hoping this would be the beginning of a new political voice.
That was a lost opportunity then, but the challenge must be met now.
