Adrian Thompson, Birmingham Socialist Party
Hundreds of demonstrators stood and marched in Birmingham on 4 October in an expression of unity and solidarity in the face of an increasingly hostile and energetic far right.
Racist agitators seemingly flood onto our social media feeds on a daily basis to serve the capitalist class’s interests, and try and divide workers along racial and religious lines. On the streets of Birmingham, however, it was clear that the hundreds-strong contingent of anti-racist demonstrators was far better organised, far more united, and far more passionate than the small number of far-right counter-demonstrators. They seemed content to argue with the police, and espouse their beliefs to disinterested passersby.
Socialist Party members from Birmingham, Coventry, and Worcester, and the University of Birmingham’s Socialist Students organisation, attended the demonstration. We’re in solidarity with the march’s aims, and we were able to broaden the reach of our ideas.
We collected financial donations and signatures in support of the international youth walkout on 20 November. We spoke with demonstrators and members of the public, and had meaningful discussions about the intersection between fighting racism and the need for class-based politics, and the importance of a socialist alternative to the problems our society faces.
The mood was one of hope. Hope that, even in a society riven by the failures of the capitalist system, and inflamed by convicted criminals taking backhanded payments from soulless billionaires, the working class can still stand united in the search for a better way of life.
