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Unite Against Fascism

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Unite Against Fascism
AbbreviationUAF
Formation2003; 21 years ago (2003)
TypeAnti-fascist
HeadquartersLondon, England
Key people
Chair – Steve Hart, political officer, Unite

Vice chair – Christine Blower, general secretary, NUT
Vice chair – Hugh Lanning, deputy general secretary, PCS
Vice chair – Azad Ali
Vice chair – Jennifer Moses, national official for equality and training, NASUWT
Treasurer – Jane Loftus, president, CWU
Joint secretary – Weyman Bennett
Joint secretary – Sabby Dhalu
Assistant secretary – Brian Richardson
Parliamentary Officer – Peter Hain, Baron Hain
European officer – Claude Moraes (former MEP)

European officer – Glyn Ford
UAF members outside the BBC Television Centre protesting against the appearance of BNP leader Nick Griffin on Question Time.

Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is a British anti-fascist group.[1][2][3]

Its joint secretaries are Weyman Bennett and Sabby Dhalu, formerly of the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR). Its chair is Steve Hart of Unite the Union and its assistant secretary was the late Jude Woodward of Socialist Action.[4]

Since 2013, UAF has mainly operated in partnership with its sister organisation Stand Up To Racism,[5] which has many of the same officers as UAF: Bennett and Dhalu as joint secretaries,[6] Diane Abbott as president[7] and co-chairs Dave Ward of the Communication Workers' Union and Talha Ahmad of the Muslim Council of Britain.[8][5]

History

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Unite Against Fascism (UAF) was formed in Great Britain in late 2003 in response to electoral successes by the BNP.[9] Its main elements were the Anti-Nazi League and the National Assembly Against Racism, with the support of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and leading British unions such as the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) (now Unite) and UNISON.[10] According to Red Pepper magazine, UAF was set up by the Socialist Workers Party and the National Assembly Against Racism.[11] Among the union leaders backing UAF were Billy Hayes of the Communication Workers Union, Andy Gilchrist and Mick Shaw of the Fire Brigades Union, Mark Serwotka of the PCS public service workers' union, and Christine Blower and Kevin Courtney of the NUT.[12] Founding signatories included David Cameron, later Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.[13]

In 2005, the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight disaffiliated from UAF after an argument over tactics to defeat the BNP.[14][15] At UAF's 2007 national conference, speakers ranged from cabinet minister Peter Hain to Edie Friedman of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality and Muhammad Abdul Bari of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), as well as figures from the major UK trade unions.[16] At UAF's 2009 national conference, Bari was again a guest speaker.[17]

UAF has worked closely with Love Music Hate Racism,[18] described by UAF/SWP's Weyman Bennett as "the cultural wing of our movement".[12]

Protests against the British National Party

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Unite Against Fascism states on its website that its aim is to deny the British National Party any chance of "gaining an electoral foothold"[3] stating that "there is a real danger that the BNP could get a significant platform in elected institutions". It claims the support of organisations representing labour, teachers, and rights activists.[19]

In November 2007, UAF organised a rally of over 1,000 people when BNP leader Nick Griffin and Holocaust denier David Irving spoke at the Oxford Union.[20] On 9 June 2009, UAF demonstrated against a BNP press conference given by Griffin and Andrew Brons outside the Palace of Westminster following their election as MEPs. Demonstrators marched towards the group with placards, chanting anti-Nazi slogans, and threw eggs at Griffin, forcing the abandonment of the press conference. Members of the press were also hit. The protesters also kicked Griffin's car and beat it with placards as he was led away from the scene.[2] Two members of the public were hospitalised as a result of the demonstration.[21] Griffin claimed that the attack was carried out with the backing of the Labour Party.[22][23]

The following day, UAF demonstrated at the BNP's next attempt to hold a press conference at a pub in Miles Platting, North Manchester.[24] They chanted anti-fascist slogans and tried to drown out Griffin by playing Bob Marley songs at high volume. One protester was arrested after spitting in the direction of a car belonging to a BNP member.[24]

In January 2010, when the Pendle branch of the UAF removed a wreath from the War Memorial in Nelson that was laid down by Councillor Adam Grant, a former soldier and current British National Party member,[25] Richard MacSween of the Pendle UAF said, "The BNP have left a wreath and we have removed it because we don't approve of fascism." In response, Labour Councillor George Adam, from the Nelson and District branch of the Royal British Legion, said, "I'm annoyed – they have no right to remove that wreath. The BNP is a legitimate political party and they have a right to lay down a wreath just as any other members of the public do." BNP Councillor Brian Parker added, "It's disgusting, and it's theft."[22][23][26]

Arrests and violence

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On 19 August 2009, police arrested 19 protesters during a demonstration by UAF against the BNP's Red, White and Blue Festival in Codnor, Derbyshire.[27] Four people were charged, three with public order offences and one with unlawfully obstructing the highway.[28][29][30]

On 22 October 2009, the UAF demonstration against Nick Griffin's appearance on the BBC's Question Time programme resulted in injuries to three police officers.[31] UAF national officer and (then) SWP National Secretary Martin Smith was found guilty of assaulting one of the police officers at South Western Magistrates' Court, London, on 7 September 2010. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order, with 80 hours' unpaid work, and was fined £450 pending an appeal.[32][33]

On 20 March 2010, demonstrations from UAF and the English Defence League (EDL) in Bolton led to violent confrontations and the arrest of at least 55 UAF supporters, including the UAF protest organiser Weyman Bennett, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit violent disorder.[34][35][36] At least three EDL supporters were also arrested, and two UAF members were taken to hospital with a minor head and a minor ear injury.[34][35] After Bennett was charged and released, he accused the police of being hostile to anti-racists and called for an inquiry into the police's actions that day.[37] The police, while criticising the EDL for "vitriolic name-calling" blamed people predominantly associated with UAF for provoking violence and said that they "acted with, at times, extreme violence".[38] All charges against Bennett were eventually dropped. In response to this news he was quoted as saying, "This is a victory for anti-fascists and for the right to protest. I'm proud to say that the threat of these charges has not deterred any of us from continuing to stand up against the EDL. I can now continue my work without this serious false allegation hanging over me. It is imperative we continue to protest to protect our multi-racial communities."[39]

On 30 August 2010, violence occurred in Brighton, East Sussex, during a UAF protest against a march organised by a group called the English Nationalist Alliance. A spokesman for the police, who were attempting to keep 250 protesters and marchers apart, said, "Unfortunately a small group from the counter-demonstration [UAF] resisted this and threw missiles at the police." There were fourteen arrests during the violence.[40]

On 2 June 2013, 58 anti-fascist demonstrators were arrested by police under Section 14 of the Public Order Act for failing to move up the street[41] away from a BNP demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament against what the BNP describe as Islamic "hate preachers".[42] Of the 58, only five were charged and their cases were dismissed at Westminster Magistrates' Court in April 2014.[43] The police had earlier banned the BNP from marching from Woolwich Barracks to the Houses of Parliament, fearing violence.[44]

Criticism

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In 2006, David Tate argued that the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) was seeking to dominate the UAF,[45] and a 2014 report in the New Statesman described it as a "front" for the SWP.[46] The same criticism has been made of UAF's sister organisation Stand Up To Racism.[47]

David Toube claims that the organisations involved in the UAF avoid condemnation of antisemitism.[48] The LGBT rights activist Peter Tatchell has accused UAF of a selective approach to bigotry: "UAF commendably opposes the BNP and EDL but it is silent about Islamist fascists who promote anti-Semitism, homophobia, sexism and sectarian attacks on non-extremist Muslims (see also Islam and violence). It is time the UAF campaigned against the Islamist far right as well as against the EDL and BNP far right."[33]

The journalist Andrew Gilligan has claimed that the UAF's reluctance to tackle Islamism is because several of its own members are supporters of such extremism. The UAF's vice-chairman, Azad Ali, is also community affairs co-ordinator of the Islamic Forum of Europe, which Gilligan describes as "a Muslim supremacist group dedicated to changing 'the very infrastructure of society, its institutions, its culture, its political order and its creed from ignorance to Islam'".[33] Nigel Copsey, Professor of Modern History at Teesside University, wrote that Ali's association with IFE made UAF "[run] the risk of turning a blind eye to Islamist extremism".[49] Ali was suspended as a civil servant in the Treasury after he wrote approvingly on his blog of an Islamic militant who said that as a Muslim he is religiously obliged to kill British soldiers in Iraq, in 2009.[50]

According to Gilligan, Michael Adebolajo, one of the murderers of Lee Rigby in 2013, spoke "on the margins" of a 2009 UAF demonstration in Harrow.[33] Secretary Weyman Bennett responded by saying that Adebolajo was not an official speaker.[33]

References

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  1. ^ "EDL Birmingham demo location moved by police". BBC News. BBC. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2011. Anti-fascist group Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is one of a number of groups taking part in a 'Unity' community event at the weekend to demonstrate the diversity of the city.
  2. ^ a b "Egg attack on BNP leader Griffin". BBC News. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Politics". National Union of Mineworkers. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  4. ^ "Our Officers". Unite Against Fascism.
  5. ^ a b Martin Thomas Corbyn under fire, Workers Liberty, 12 October 2016
  6. ^ Stand Up To Racism National Conference 10th October 2017
  7. ^ "Stand Up To Trump Statement Launched", SUTR website, 16 January 2017
    - Damien Gayle, "Corbyn under fire for speaking at anti-racism rally with links to SWP", The Guardian, 10 October 2016
  8. ^ http://www.standuptoracism.org.uk/
    - "As tens of thousands march — we can keep Trump out", Socialist Worker, 7 February 2017
  9. ^ "Unite Against Fascism". Socialist Worker. 6 December 2003. Archived from the original on 28 December 2003. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
  10. ^ Stefano Fella; Carlo Ruzza (24 December 2012). Anti-Racist Movements in the EU: Between Europeanisation and National Trajectories. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 67–68. ISBN 978-0-230-29090-7. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  11. ^ "Unite Against Fascism". Red Pepper. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  12. ^ a b Weyman Bennett Anti-fascism and the spirit of the united front Socialist Review 385, November 2013
  13. ^ "Founding signatories". Unite Against Fascism. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010.
  14. ^ Editorial in Searchlight, July 2005
  15. ^ Letter of resignation to UAF in Searchlight, July 2005
  16. ^ UAF website, "Hundreds gathered to launch campaign against the fascist BNP's May election offensive" 23 February 2007
  17. ^ "Details announced for UAF 2009 National Conference". 19 December 2008. Archived from the original on 18 June 2009.
  18. ^ "Bishopsgate Institute - Unite Against Fascism / Rock Against Racism". Archived from the original on 12 April 2017.
  19. ^ UAF website,"UAF supporters include:"
  20. ^ Matthew Taylor, "Irving and Griffin spark fury at Oxford Union debate", The Guardian, 27 November 2007
  21. ^ "Two People in Hospital After BNP Protest". BSkyB. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  22. ^ a b "BNP leader Nick Griffin pelted with eggs by protesters". The Daily Telegraph. London. 9 June 2009. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
  23. ^ a b "Why we threw eggs at the BNP". BBC News. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  24. ^ a b Jenkins, Russell (10 June 2009). "BNP's Nick Griffin finally gets to make a speech". London: timesonline.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  25. ^ "Police probe as anti-fascism group removes BNP wreath from Nelson memorial". Pendle Today. 29 January 2010.
  26. ^ Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Archive Project - 2009 - Lancashire". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  27. ^ "BNP thugs cower behind police lines". Socialist Worker. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  28. ^ Taylor, Matthew (16 August 2009). "Four charged as far-right festival brings chaos to Derbyshire village". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  29. ^ Fineren, Daniel (17 August 2009). "Three charged over racial taunt at BNP rally | UK | Reuters". Uk.reuters.com. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  30. ^ "4 charged after demo against UK far-right festival". Taiwan News Online. Associated Press. 16 August 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  31. ^ Hines, Nico; Foster, Patrick; Hamilton, Fiona; Kerbaj, Richard (22 October 2009). "Anti-fascist protesters charge BBC before Nick Griffin booed during Question Time". London: timesonline.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  32. ^ "Martin Smith - 'I will appeal and clear my name'". Socialist Worker. 9 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014.
  33. ^ a b c d e Gilligan, Andrew (15 June 2013). "Anti-fascists fuel the fire of hate". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  34. ^ a b "Police battle to control EDL and UAF protest in Bolton". BBC News. BBC. 20 March 2010.
  35. ^ a b "Thousands face off in rally". The Bolton News. 20 March 2010.
  36. ^ "55 arrests at protests". The Bolton News.
  37. ^ "Anti-fascist charged after Bolton protests". BBC. 21 March 2010.
  38. ^ Smith, Lewis (22 March 2010). "Police blame anti-fascists for violence". The Independent. London.
  39. ^ "Anti-fascist protesters to avoid charges after EDL clash". Manchester Evening News. 19 November 2010.
  40. ^ "Three injured at anti-fascist demo in Brighton". BBC. 30 August 2010.
  41. ^ "58 arrested as anti-fascist demonstrators clash with BNP in Westminster", London Evening Standard, 1 June 2013
  42. ^ "BNP to State Rally in London". ITV. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  43. ^ Hugh Muir, "Diary: Another bad day for the CPS as anti-fascist prosecution collapses", The Guardian, 15 April 2014, p 31
  44. ^ Josie Ensor, "Police arrest 58 as anti-fascist protesters clash with BNP", Telegraph, 1 June 2013
  45. ^ Tate, David (15 May 2006). "How to fight the BNP". The Guardian. London.
  46. ^ Edward Platt Comrades at war: the decline and fall of the Socialist Workers Party, New Statesman 20 May 2014
  47. ^ Damien Gayle Corbyn under fire for speaking at anti-racism rally with links to SWP Guardian 10 October 2016
    - Abi Wilkinson Why Jeremy Corbyn should support the boycott of the Socialist Workers Party, i, 10 October 2016
    - Adam Bienkov Jeremy Corbyn supporters demand he apologise to rape victims for 'laundering' SWP's reputation politics.co.uk 17 October 2016
    - Joe Vesey-Byrne Owen Jones refuses to join Trump Protest because SWP is 'a cult which covered up rape' indy100 5 February 2017
    - Saphora Smith Journalist Owen Jones blasts organisers of Saturday's anti-Trump march, Evening Standard, 4 February 2017
  48. ^ Toube, David (18 February 2009). "Why we must reclaim antiracism from the far left". The Guardian. London.
  49. ^ Copsey, Nigel (2016). Anti-Fascism in Britain. Taylor & Francis. p. 359. ISBN 978-1-317-39761-8.
  50. ^ Gilligan, Andrew (1 March 2010). "Sir Ian Blair's deal with Islamic radical". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
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