For a Democratic Conference to Unite the
Anti-Fascist Movement
David Landau,
Jewish Socialists’ Group
It is clear that whilst the
British National Party (BNP) failed to make a decisive breakthrough in
the various elections on the 10 June, they remain a major danger – a
danger possibly masked by the success of UKIP.
In the London Assembly List the
BNP got 4.7% of the vote, only 0.3% from the 5% necessary to get a seat
on the London Assembly. This was despite the fact that UKIP had won two
seats. There is no doubt that without the involvement of UKIP the BNP
would have won one if not two seats in the London Assembly. Whilst they
failed to make further gains in Burnley, Blackburn and Calderdale and
failed to breakthrough in Oldham they won 4 seats in Bradford and came
second in many seats in Oldham. Whilst they lost seats in Sandwell and
Dudley, they increased their vote in many Birmingham wards coming second
in some. Whilst loosing their seat in Thurrock they won three seats in
Epping and came second in a couple of wards in Basildon. THEY HAVE NOT
GONE AWAY! NEITHER CAN WE!
We would add that the success of
UKIP itself is of major concern to the anti-fascist movement. Whilst we
would not characterize UKIP as a fascist party, opposition to
immigration is its second major focus; it is profoundly xenophobic and
has thrust forward as its figurehead Robert Kilroy-Silk just at the
moment that he has gained notoriety as for his Islamaphobic racist
outbursts.
Unite Against Fascism (UAF) was
formed because of the serious gains that the BNP had made in May 2003
and the threat of a further breakthrough on 10 June concentrated the
minds of the anti-racist and anti-fascist organisations and they
recognised the urgent need for united action. We recognise this as a
step forward for the movement. However, the speed in which it was put
together as a steering committee made up of people from this and that
body has led to an inherently undemocratic and unaccountable structure,
which may have been justified by those circumstances but must now give
way to an organisation that is owned by the anti-fascist movement as a
whole.
One of the problems that emerged
during the short history of the UAF has been an uneasy relationship and
sometimes downright conflict between local anti-fascist organisations
and the UAF as a national body. We believe that this is largely a
consequence of the lack of democratic ownership described above. We
think that it is also due to a misconceived attempt to imitate the
methods of the Stop the War Coalition. Whilst the success of the Stop
the War Coalition in mobilising large numbers has lessons to teach all
movements it is vital to recognise very significant differences. The
enemy that anti-racists and anti-fascists fight is organising in our
midst – on our streets, in our estates, our schools, our town halls and
so forth. It uses the methods of community politics. It must follow
therefore that tactics, material, emphasis and methods ought to vary
from region to region, from town to town, and in some cases, from ward
to ward.
Having said that, we recognise
the tremendous advantages of having a national movement that, as much as
possible, works from a common strategy. But this can only happen
successfully if all the forces are involved in formulating that
strategy, bringing the wealth of their experiences to the table.
We therefore propose that Unite
Against Fascism organises a conference as soon as practically possible –
say in the autumn - mindful that a General Election is likely in the
next 12 months. We would argue strongly that this conference be open to
representatives of organisations not currently affiliated to UAF so that
a movement emerges that everyone can sign up to.
July 2004