134: How to fight the far right

In this episode of the podcast Josh Asker the editor of 'The Socialist,' explains the tactics and strategies needed to build a mass movement against the far right. Socialism 2024 Get your tickets for socialism here: www.socialism.org.uk Do you want to be part of building the socialist opposition that we need to end austerity, poverty, climate crisis, racism and discrimination, and war? Taking place on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 November, the Socialism 2024 weekend will arm you with the ideas to fight back under the Starmer government against the capitalist system it defends. Socialism 2024 will be taking place only days after Rachel Reeves’ autumn budget which will show Labour’s plans to make the working class pay for the crisis of the capitalist system while the rich get richer. Join hundreds of trade unionists, students, community campaigners, and those who just want to find out about socialist ideas to discuss and debate ideas to change the world. The centrepiece of the event will be the main rally on the Saturday evening where you will hear from leading socialists. There will be over 40 workshops running throughout Saturday and Sunday on all sorts of topics. And there will be closing rallies on the Sunday afternoon. Smash racism The large counter-protests on 7 August pointed to the potential to build an anti-racist movement. We must challenge attempts by racists and the populist and far right to take advantage of the anger at Starmer’s attacks on living standards. The workshops in this theme at Socialism 2024 are an opportunity to look at the ideas needed to do that and include: You can’t have capitalism without racism: The origins of racism and the struggle to end it today Capitalism and Islamophobia After the riots: the role of the trade unions in a Community Defence Stewards organisation Further Reading: Lessons from the Fight against the Far Right: The working class has a long history of mobilising to resist attempts by far-right forces to attack and intimidate our communities. The Socialist Party and its predecessor Militant has a long history of taking part in those struggles, including at times playing a leading role. In all these struggles, the fight to stop the far right is completely bound with the fight for a socialist alternative, and mobilising the working class to fight for decent jobs and homes, fully funded services, and all our communities need. https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/130801/02-10-2024/lessons-from-the-fight-against-the-far-right/ The first lightning flashes – and what to do One month after Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party was ‘swept to power’ by a paltry 20% of the electorate – the lowest support base of any government since the introduction of universal male suffrage in 1918 – violent protests and riots, instigated by far-right groups, broke out across the country. For those trapped in asylum-seekers’ hostels or mosques under brutal attack from gangs of rioters, the experience was terrifying. More generally, many Black, Asian and Muslim people feel that their safety is increasingly under threat. Tell Mama, a monitoring group tracking Islamophobic hate crimes, reported a five-fold increase in threats to Muslims compared to the same time last year. https://socialismtoday.org/the-first-lightning-flashes-and-what-to-do