This branch/region/executive notes:
- The breakthrough and growth of Nigel Farage led far right party Reform UK, which claims over 130,000 members and has five MPs and 54 councillors
- Fascist Tommy Robinson’s efforts to build a fascist led far right and racist street movement in Britain, based on deeply Islamophobic, antisemitic and racist
- That Robinson was a member of the Nazi British National Party and founded the English Defence League.
- Robinson held successive mobilisations in 2024 culminating in 26 October where he put up to 25,000 on the streets in an incredibly Islamophobic mobilisation, and followed by a demonstration of up to 5,000 on 1 February
- The summer riots and racist violence were stoked by Robinson, and came off the back of his 26 July demonstration which attracted over 15,000.
- In the last year Stand Up To Racism has organised national demonstrations in July (of 5,000), October (of 20,000) and in February (of over 5,000), as well as the many protests bringing out tens of thousands of people in August and September to counter Robinson’s far right mobilisations and ensure the fascists are not permitted free passage through out streets unopposed
- Internationally, the far right is growing, although it also faces opposition from anti-racists. Trump’s inauguration on 20 January alongside the interventions of Elon Musk have given another boost to the global far right
- Elon Musk is now one of the most influential figures of the far right, becoming the leading defender of Robinson, and stoking up racism and Islamophobia about so-called “Pakistani grooming gangs”.
- Lies about the very serious issue of child sexual exploitation are a further insult to the victims who have already suffered appalling treatment. The Home Office’s own inquiry has shown that group-based child sexual exploitation offenders are most commonly white.
- Reform UK now boasts over 170,000 members, overtaking the Tories.
This branch/region/executive believes:
- Reform UK is setting the agenda in British politics around immigration and pushing hard racism, scapegoating of refugees, migrants and Muslims, along with a so called “anti-woke” agenda targeting trans’ rights, women’s rights and the right to protest, and is giving confidence to the far right and fascists.
- The far right is still divided, and the splits in Reform UK around support for Robinson reinforce the potential that they can be stopped.
- While Robinson claimed his protest is about “freeing him and other political prisoners”—he is pursuing the agenda he has for years—spreading racism, Islamophobia and division and building the forces of fascism in Britain.
- We stand with the victims and survivors of the horrific abuse cases and oppose the cynical exploitation of their experiences to boost racism
- We must build the biggest movement possible to unite against and expose the fascists while calling out and challenging the wider peddled racist myths and divisive narrative of hate that threatens working class communities. This means our unions—from level of the workplace and the community to regional and national levels—joining with faith groups, campaigns and organisations, politicians and cultural figures—all opposed to Racism and fascism—coming together.
This branch/region/executive resolves:
- To support the protest called by Stand Up To Racism on 22 March as part of the World Against Racism & Fascism international day of protest, and to send the banner with a delegation, and cover the costs of transport whether the Stand Up To Racism mobilisation is local, regional or national
- To circulate details to members encouraging them to join the demonstration
- To link up with other unions to support and build a trade union bloc to ensure there is a strong trade union presence at the demonstration to take on Robinson’s hatred and attempts to divide us.
- To back and send a delegation to the Stand Up to Racism Trade Union Conference on 1 March in London, Fighting For Anti Racist Workplaces: Countering the Far Right, which is supported by the TUC, to share details of it with members and on social media and web platforms.
- To support future initiatives against fascist Tommy Robinson, the far right and Reform UK organised by Stand Up To Racism and the unions including leafleting, campaigns and protests.
