Fascist Tommy Robinson is due in court, on contempt of court charges, on 28 October. Two days before that he is seeking to build the biggest far- right mobilisation that Britain has seen for many decades – portraying himself as a martyr.
He and his supporters mobilised over 15,000 people in central London last July and this was followed by the worst societal disorder we have seen for over a decade, fuelled by scurrilous disinformation on social media, where we saw frightening levels of Racism, Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism, and shocking levels of violence especially against Asylum seekers and our communities.
People such as Robinson and his supporters seek to distance themselves from such activity and for tactical reasons will seek to avoid mention of it on their demonstration in London on Saturday.
Napo’s position
There will be a number of Napo member’s making their way to the counter demonstration in London on Saturday 26 October (details here) and at our recent AGM in Newcastle, your union’s commitment to oppose racist and fascist activity in our communities (and sadly, in some workplaces) was made clear. An emergency motion that was carried also directed Napo to give full support to this event and promote it within our membership.
We have received a few communications suggesting among other things, that Napo should stay out of politics and simply tolerate ‘so-called free speech’. However, this union, under its Constitutional obligations and directions through our members, cannot and will not stand idly by and ignore the lies from politicians and their supporters about Muslims, refugees and migrants being the cause of crime and social disadvantage against white working-class people. That’s why we are supporting the counter demonstration to reclaim our streets and oppose the language of division. It’s rhetoric that is similar to that which was around in Europe before and after World War 2. A conflict that saw hundreds of thousands of working-class people from Britain and the then Commonwealth countries, sacrifice themselves to oppose the axis of evil that would have enslaved the world.
Stand Up To Racism, alongside trade unions, faith groups and other campaigns and organisations, is building a counter mobilisation on 26 October with transport coming from across England, Scotland and Wales, to show that there is huge opposition to the growth of hate and the far right in Britain.
Our aim is to celebrate our diversity; to show we are against the racists and that they are a minority in our country. We must not let their hatred dominate our society.
Visit our dedicated anti-fascist protest page to be kept up with all of the information you will need to attend the protest on Saturday.
#napotheunion
Ian Lawrence
Napo General Secretary
