anti-fascism

There will be an anarchist bloc at the upcoming October 4th march to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street. During this battle, people from all over London came together to drive the British Union of Fascists and the police that protected them out of the east end. This was made possible by decades of previous organising in workplaces and the community that built working class solidarity, including between migrant Jewish garment workers and migrant Irish dock workers.

Far Right, racist liars have been out in our working class communities throughout the country lying to people about refugees and asylum seekers being the problem for worsening conditions? The far right along with the media, are playing their usual dirty tricks of dividing working class people through their racist lies and propaganda!
Migrants have always worked here especially in the NHS and in other low paid jobs.

While Refugees and asylum seekers, are forced to leave their countries because of war, conflict persecution, murder, rape and extreme poverty. They have nothing but the clothes on their backs, they are the victims of this rotten system that’s only interested in power and making profits for the rich few!

By the way, Britain is the sixth richest country in the world and yet people are on streets homeless and destitute?

Working class people suffer through the cost of living?

While those in power are living in wealth and luxury?

“Active for Plymouth” is a new far-right group in Plymouth. They act like they’re just a common-sense party run by ordinary people. They are anything but! Their leader is a conspiracy theorist, expelled from his last party for racism. Their secretary has put out hateful campaign material ranting against gypsies. And what's more, there are concerning links to Plymouth's extreme right. We’re putting out the truth of what they’re really about, so that no-one gets taken in by their election campaign this month.

Jason "tinfoil hat" Shopland

Jason Shopland has been trying to get elected for the past few years. Standing for UKIP in 2015, he went on to start "Plymouth Independents" the next year. The party only lasted a few months but still found time to kick out Shopland for racism

The EDL are now planning to march in the centre of Manchester on Sat 20th October. After growing and widespread opposition across the city the EDL were forced to abandon their planned national march to 'shut down' Didsbury mosque. Instead, they now intend to march in the centre of Manchester.

Join the protest, stop the march meet at 12.30 Piccadilly Gardens on 20th Oct.

The Anti-Fascist Network will be hosting a Southern Regional Conference in Reading on the 10th September. There will be workshops, talks, films, stalls with merch and books, a creche and a benefit gig/after party. More information, including a full workshop timetable, to be announced - check the AFN website for updates.

The conference will be in central Reading (location to be announced nearer the time), and doors will be at midday. There will also be an antifascist benefit gig in the evening. If you need help with travel advice and accessability please contact your closest AFN group or berksantifa[AT]riseup[DOT]net.

Let’s work together and continue to build a grassroots movement which tackles fascism head on. The Anti-Fascist Network is non-hierarchical, will never work with the police and is not affiliated to any political party.

Last Saturday several actions took place in different countries against the Jails for Migrants (AKA detention centres). Brighton Migrant Solidarity organised a coach to protest outside the two centres in Gatwick.

Attempts by the nazi Bristol United Patriots to march through Bedminster, on Saturday 17th October, ended with them being routed and seen off. Their feeble attempts to mobilise failed to happen because of community action and brave resistance by anti-fascists. Members of Bristol Solidarity Federation joined up with others to ensure that they were not free to spread their message.

One Bedminster resident said he "was chuffed to fuck" to see people willing to come to his neighbourhood and stand up to racists and fascists.

On September the 12th, almost 200 people tried to stop a fascist march against refugees in the streets of Dover. The march was made up of more than 200 members from groups such as National Front, South East Alliance or BNP, with the objective of reaching Dover harbour to the cry of “refugees, go home!”. This triggered violent confrontations with the antifascists and the Police causing several injured people. It is the third fascist demonstration in the city of Dover this year.

As predicted, the static demo held by Pegida in Newcastle's Bigg Market was something of an embarrassment for the neo-nazis. Denied a march through town, and lacking anything like a fraction of the numbers that the hype and publicity accorded to them, the unveiling of the far-rights latest toy turned out to be broken. Dredging up all the old fascists from the past several decades for something that was supposed to be new and dynamic, was both tragic and comic, with reports of less than 300 them turning up. Outnumbered many times over - several estimates of anti-fascists are close to 2000 - just shows that for all of Pegida's effort, Newcastle was never going to be the city of the Fourth Reich. Newcastle Local were out an hour before the march handing leaflets to members of the public; at one point we were challenged by fascists dressed in 1930's tweeds; needless to say, not a straight face could be kept at the spectacle of ranting fascists dressed like extras in Downton Abbey!

Newcastle Local has closed the year in a much stronger position having gained new members, new contacts and developed a new direction for the Local. We’ve been involved in 3 successful workplace battles - one of which being the Santander conflict in Spain, that was in support of a sacked member of our Spanish sister union, the CNT; another being a week of international action against a company our German union, the FAU, were in conflict with; and closer to home a local pay theft case in North Tyneside, which won a four figured settlement.

Throughout the year we have answered a steady trickle of queries regarding workplace law and problems, something that we hope will be better catered for with the creation of our new campaign website.