Cable Street and Beyond

4 10 2017

It’s an event that’s become mythologised, Moseley was able to carry on recruiting and indeed marched again within the week. A year later an equally large march was met with similarly fierce opposition in Bermondsey. It was one battle in an ongoing campaign, fascism isn’t that easy to put down. Anti-fascism is never just ‘the big demo’.

Brighton Anti-fascists

On the 4th October 1936 , tens of thousands of anti-fascists turned out to stop Moseley’s Blackshirts marching into the East End of London.

c1 Barricades during the “Battle of Cable Street”

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Not your grandfather’s antifascism

3 10 2017

re-blogged from crimethinc

Anti-fascism has arrived. Here’s where it needs to go.

Following the clashes in Charlottesville and the massive anti-fascist demonstrations afterwards in Durham, Boston, and the Bay Area, the struggle against fascism has arrived in the consciousness of the general public. Tens of thousands of people are realizing that the fight against fascism didn’t end in 1945—that today, as increasingly authoritarian governments collude with ascendant fascist movements, this battle is more pressing than ever. Read the rest of this entry »





Brief reports and pics from the weekend

27 06 2017

London

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All the EDL

The EDL had a pitiful turnout in London on Saturday, with a mere 50 of them on their national demo. They didn’t get to march to Parliament as they had intended and were harrassed and heckled by anti-fascists along the way.

EDL leader Ian Crossland had gloated and joked online about the murderous racist attack on worshippers at Finsbury Park mosque and the hate preachers at the EDL rally stayed true to form.

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Community defence against the EDL – All out! London, Sat 24th June

20 06 2017

Facebook event

Everything is up in the air. The government is in chaos, risking peace in Ireland by making a pact with hard-line Ulster loyalists. There have been a number of terrorist attacks in quick succession. No one knows where Brexit negotiations will take us. The horror of Grenfell tower has created huge public anger which is spilling out onto the streets. On Monday night a terrorist inspired by the hate preachers of the far-right drove a van into a crowd of people outside a mosque in North London shouting “Kill all Muslims!”

These are vital times for those of us fighting for a better world and we are at a turning point. There is a real danger that the UK could see increasing attacks on Muslims and immigrants, fascists marching in greater numbers on the streets, a UK state allied with Trump, the bigots of the DUP calling the shots in government, hard Brexit. But the election showed a huge and no longer hidden desire for a different politics. There is the possibility that with renewed organising we could turn things around and create a future with more hope for working class people, for migrants, for everyone left out at the moment – turn around austerity, get rid of a brutal and racist government and drive the fascists back into shame and hiding.

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Resurgence of the Far Right: 1000+ EDL in violent rampage in Manchester

13 06 2017

faces

On Sunday a demo that was initially promoted as a ‘Gays Against Sharia’ protest, timed to exploit the anniversary of the Orlando nightclub attack, turned into one of the largest and most violent far-right protests seen in this country for several years.

This has come as something of a surprise, coming only a week after a national EDL demo in Liverpool pulled about 100 people and was comprehensively outnumbered, blocked and laughed out of town.

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Merseyside Anti-Fascist Network statement on Saturday’s demo in Liverpool

7 06 2017
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That’s the whole EDL national demo there

from Merseyside AFN

On Saturday in Merseyside, the EDL thought they would hold one of their divisive, often violent, beer fuelled marches in our city. In the last couple of years Liverpool has set a precedent for not accepting bigoted fascists in whatever form they have taken, and yesterday was no exception.

UAF set up a static demonstration at Lime Street steps which was heavily policed and designed to have minimal contact with the fascists all day. Fortunately, many antifascists, both local and from outside the area had the common sense to ignore the kettle and headed down to London Road to confront the fascists in their own pub. Cans of lager flew from the fascists as police tried to keep an increasingly growing crowd of angry scousers back from the evidently tiny group of racists.

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La FN en Brighton? Mais Non!

21 05 2017

From Brighton Antifascists

When we heard a few days ago that Tony Thommes, the Front National candidate for French Expats in Northern Europe, was planning a meeting at the King and Queen pub in Brighton today, we knew he’d regret it.

We put out a call at the last minute and gathered about 40 local militants outside the Pub, which was guarded by private security. Believing the meeting was already underway, we unfurled banners and placards and settled in for the long haul.

Then somebody spotted the man of the hour himself, Tony Thommes, walking up the road with a lone minder. There was a robust exchange of ideas between the FN candidate and local antifascists, which led to him fleeing across the Old Steine, pursued by a large crowd. After doing a loop of the Steine, the filth arrived, sparking another argument. Thommes was quickly escorted to a police van, and driven away for his own safety. Antifascists regrouped outside the King and Queen for a quick victory photo and then a trip to the pub, the racist’s meeting successfully cancelled.

Thanks to everyone who came out to keep Brighton fascist-free. We will always make sure that Brighton is a hostile place for the far-right, be they French, English or whatever. Contre le fascisme et le nationalisme, liberté pour tous!