THE MAIN labour movement anti-racism campaign in Britain, Stand Up to Racism (SUTR), is led by the SWP. But despite being controlled by the SWP, SUTR presents as a left-liberal anti-racist campaign, not a workers’ united front.
It concentrates on collecting annual affiliations from trade unions but—as with trade union affiliations to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign—this does not translate into trade union mobilisation for its demonstrations.
While the SWP and SUTR are often at the forefront of combating the growth of the far right on the streets, the SWP limits SUTR’s programme to what it believes is acceptable to the Labour left and trade union bureaucracy, with liberal slogans declaring, ‘Refugees and migrants welcome here’.
While the sentiment is fine, it does little to address the forms of organisation needed to force the leaders of the labour movement into action to defend those under attack.
In fact union leaders are only too happy to outsource their anti-racist obligations to SUTR, since it means they do not have to confront anti-immigrant prejudices in the workplace, where they are fomented on a daily basis by the tabloids, politicians and social media ‘influencers’. In exchange for the occasional appearance of a union bigwig on their platforms, SUTR quietly ensures that its anti-fascist activity remains as non-confrontational as possible.
Similarly, when making links with ethnic and religious minority communities, SUTR mostly focuses on ‘community leaders’, many of whom jealously guard their influence and are often desperate to avoid conflict.
This has led to the outrage of some SUTR branches and officials prohibiting Palestinian flags on recent demos because it might alienate the Zionism of some Jewish otherwise ‘anti-racist’ organisations. This of course deeply alienates people from the huge pro-Palestinian movement. Such crass opportunism can only weaken the anti-racist movement.
We need a real united front against racism and fascism. Trade unions and Labour parties should actively encourage their branches to conduct education in the workplaces and mobilise for demonstrations, with their banners and organised stewards’ groups. These can form the basis for anti-fascist defence organisation, which we need to stop fascists and violent racists from terrorising migrants—and growing.
While union leaders, MPs and even community leaders should be invited to address demonstrations, they should be made accountable. We should openly demand that they not only support self-defence against far right and police attacks, but also organise a fight against the social ills caused by capitalism that the fascists and conspiracy theorists utilise to pin the blame on migrants and Muslims.
The best way to undermine the far right is to demonstrate that it is class, not race that is the fundamental dividing line in society. Immigrant workers must become an integral part of the labour movement. ‘Left behind ‘ areas, deprived communities, decaying social services are not caused by immigration but by capitalism and its parties.
If the victims of these social ills are turned into fighters against them, the swamp that breeds racism and fascism can be drained. And the workers movement, under a renewed, militant, grassroots leadership, can become the source of hope needed to prevent the hate.
