Anti-Fascism: Tactics and Principles

Guest post by Ed Mustill

It’s no surprise that a hot topic on the Left at the moment is anti-fascism. The recent success of the BNP in getting two of their members elected to the European Parliament, and the emergence of groups like the English Defence League require us to consider carefully our tactics for countering the growth of open fascism and racism that this economic crisis seems to have precipitated.

The BNP’s continued electoral success and the party’s abandonment (for now) of street fascism has opened a political space for groups like the English Defence League to operate. Despite denying formal links with the BNP, the EDL and others like it no doubt feel emboldened to act openly due to BNP successes. Recently the EDL called a rally in Birmingham, and by all accounts were disappointed at the small numbers they attracted. Videos show they were dispersed by both police and protesters.

It is possible, even likely, that if the marches the EDL has planned over the coming weeks flop in a similar way, the group will fall apart. They can be stamped out by direct confrontation before they gain any sort of support base. However, such action needs to be well organised to minimise the danger to anti-fascists and the backlash of negative publicity. Unite Against Fascism (UAF) leaders in Birmingham have come under criticism for failing to give tactical direction to the people they assembled.

No Platform

The No Platform tactic has been central to how the anti-fascist movement has operated for many years, and is currently held up on a pedestal by UAF.

Of course, we shouldn’t be inviting the BNP to debates. It is right that student unions and trade unions uphold No Platform policies, and they should be able to expel members who are found to belong to fascist groups. This is because unions are political organisations with political aims and ideals. It is precisely because we can’t rely on the state and the capitalist media to shut out the fascists, that our own working class organisations must take the lead. No Platform should be carried out by the organised working class, not the capitalist state. I’m not going to shed a tear for liberty when a far-right march gets banned, but we should be aware that state-led action is as likely to be used against the Left as the Right in future.

Recently the BNP attempted to hold a stall in Derby which was surrounded by activists from various groups. They were forced to leave after only twenty minutes. The action was disciplined, unified, non-violent and successful. Sadly, the BNP are not at a stage where they can be No Platformed out of existence, like they were on Brick Lane in 1993. In my organisation, the Socialist Party, we have always regarded No Platform as a tactic. The sad fact is that there are situations where the BNP have a platform, whether we like it or not, and we are not always in a position to take it away from them. When UAF are invited to debate the BNP in the media they refuse, sometimes sending a pre-written statement to be read out instead. This in fact gives the BNP representative a free platform to say what they want without fear of contradiction, facing only a toothless interviewer. There may be socialists elected to the same councils and parliaments as the BNP. Should they not take their seats, and fail to serve the people who sent them there? Of course not.

Winning the Political Argument

Why is UAF so adamant in applying No Platform in every situation? Well, despite the fact that it is supported and funded by the unions, it has no trade union based programme. UAF’s approach to anti-fascism has been to build a broad coalition, including members of the three main parties, even the Tories. The problem is that these parties are the ones responsible for the rise of the BNP, by abandoning the white working-classes, destroying communities like the pit villages of Derbyshire and chasing tabloid headlines fostering resentment against immigrants. We need to oppose not only the BNP but the political ‘mainstream’ which has given them legitimacy. We need to oppose not only far-right organisations, but racist ideas.

UAF makes no attempt to win these political arguments. Their blanket call for No Platform and slogans like ‘Smash the Nazi BNP’ are substitutes for radical politics. Bulldozing your way into a community and shouting ‘Nazi scum off or streets’ won’t endear you to anyone, especially when you’ll effectively be calling on them to vote Labour at election time. Likewise, having a scrap without a layer of support and consent from workers in the area can be counter-productive. This means that there is a danger that many locals adopt a ‘plague on both your houses’ attitude to fascists and anti-fascists. Even worse, in this situation the BNP line that they are the underdogs whose ‘right to free speech’ is being blocked by the ‘establishment’ could begin to resonate.

Codnor

This year’s protest at the BNP’s annual Red, White, and Blue ‘festival’ took place in Derbyshire on Saturday 15th August. It was bigger than last year’s, and allowed by police to get much closer to the farm where the festival was held. Shortly after arriving we heard that UAF were dropping off some people from their coaches and encouraging them to do ‘direct action’. This turned out to be blockading the entrances to the farm that the main demo wasn’t allowed to cover.

The blockades were a good idea, but the way in which they were organised was undemocratic. UAF didn’t co-ordinate with any of the local campaign groups, which could have resulted in a larger turnout all round, including at the blockaded gates. To anyone familiar with their behaviour at last year’s protest, this won’t come as a surprise.

The problem at Codnor is the same as it was last year; UAF will leave town, and local activists will have to pick up the work. They will have to explain these tactics, which they had no role in shaping, to working class people in the area. And they face the arduous task of putting forward a positive alternative to the BNP once the cameras, and UAF, have gone.

We need to keep No Platform as one weapon in our anti-fascist arsenal. In places like Codnor, the local campaigns’ ‘Jobs and homes, not racism’ slogan is far more relevant and effective than UAF saying ‘Don’t vote Nazi’. Working class organisations are the most powerful forces against fascism, but only when they take up positive, class-based politics. .