Claire Fisher and Maciej Zurowski report on the English Defence League demonstration in east London and the response of anti-fascists As readers will know, home secretary Theresa May responded to the English Defence League’s intention to hold an anti-Muslim demonstration in Tower Hamlets and the proposed counter-demonstration of the left by banning all marches in five ...
We have no problem with self-defence, writes Michael Copestake (first published in the Weekly Worker) One can almost hear the sound of knees jerking, as calls are heard from sections of the left for the state to take action against the far right following the massacre in Norway. Of course, we on the left feel particular ...
Harley Filben reviews Sean Birchall's 'Beating the fascists: The untold story of Anti-Fascist Action' Freedom Press, London 2010, pp413, £15 (first published in the Weekly Worker) This book appears at an interesting time, given its subject matter. The historical narrative it lays out - the rise of militant anti-fascism from the ...
The mobilisation against the English Defence League was attacked and kettled by a well planned police operation. Sinead Rylance and Chris Strafford report After postponing its demonstration from the original date of March 6 due to Hindu celebrations in the town centre, the English Defence League marched in Bolton on March 20. In the run-up, the ...
Manchester Communist Students is launching a series on 'A Revolutionary History of Germany' with speakers from across the country and the Left. Everyone is welcome to attend, we always meet every tuesday at 6.30pm at the University of Manchester Students' Union in Meeting room 2 or 3. Below is a provisional list of dates and subjects: 09/02- ...
James Turley sees SWP politics reduced to ultra-shrill self-parody It has been a busy week for the Socialist Workers Party - the largest and most visible far-left group in Britain today. Its members and periphery formed the biggest part of Saturday’s demo against the Afghanistan war, as well as the bulk of Thursday’s shrill protest at ...
James Turley reviews Nigel Copsey’s Contemporary British fascism Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp264, £19.99 The rise and rise of the British National Party is a source of much consternation in contemporary Britain, among bourgeois society and the left alike. The BNP is viewed as a fascist interloper, sneaking into ‘mainstream’ politics with murderous intent. Yet there is remarkably ...
Calls for state, local government and BBC censorship and bans will inevitably backfire against the workers’ movement, argues Ben Lewis Doubtless bolstered by the British National Party’s recent electoral success, there has been a rise in far-right street mobilisations, leading to tussles with the police, Muslim youth and left activists, including those from Unite Against Fascism. ...
We feature here two videos of sessions from Communist University where members of Communist Students gave the introductory opening talks. To see which other videos are available, please visit the CPGB's Vimeo video channel at: http://vimeo.com/cpgb 'Capitalism's crisis: how do we organise?' Ben Lewis of Communist Students and the CPGB speaks alongside Hillel Ticktin, Moshe Machover and ...
The continued rise of the British National Party raises key questions about the left’s strategy. Ben Lewis takes a look at the Socialist Workers Party’s analysis and argues for a root-and-branch rethink The election of BNP leader Nick Griffin and acolyte Andrew Brons to the European parliament has been endlessly reported in both the bourgeois media ...
Reactionary ideas are the ideas that allow the right to do its job, writes James Turley British voters have before them the first major election since the onset of the economic crisis, when June’s European parliament ballot rolls around. The Labour Party anticipates a drubbing, short of a miracle between now and June, and much has been ...
Last year was the 50th anniversary of the Notting Hill Race riots. CS member John Sidwell wrote this article examining some of the issues The riots that broke out in Notting Hill, 1958 marked the first major race riot in Britain post-mass immigration. It spanned five nights over the August Bank holiday, sparked by the bating ...
James Turley asks why the working class should have any confidence in the protection of the bourgeois state It is perhaps the biggest cock-up in the British National Party’s recent history. Britain’s largest far-right group has been damaged by a number of shock documentaries that suggest the party’s core remains more enthusiastic about Hitler than its PR ...