Seize the time in Stoke: help kick out the Nazi BNP
With less than two months to go until the May elections, the campaign to rid Stoke-on-Trent of all its fascist British National Party councillors is building momentum. The stakes are high in Stoke. The city has all-out council elections in May, and antifascists have a chance to repeat last year's success in Barking, when all the Nazi BNP councillors were kicked out. But if the fascists are allowed to win or keep seats, then there will be BNP councillors in Stoke until 2015.
Get involved
Last Sunday saw another successful day of action, organised jointly by North Staffordshire Campaign Against Racism & Fascism (NorSCARF) and UAF. Campaigners have now leafleted most of two key electoral wards. Now you can help make the next days of action count in the battle to get rid of the BNP. To get involved, please email NorSCARF or UAF or phone 07817 688 835. NorSCARF and UAF need the help of as many activists as possible. They are asking antifascists to come to Stoke on the next days of action: Sunday 3 April and Sunday 17 April.
Stirring up
Since the BNP first won council seats in Stoke, they have been stirring up anti-Muslim racism. The fascists opposed the building of Hanley's Regent Road Mosque - which suffered an arson attack in December. The BNP attempted to hold a fascist rally in the city in 2008 and local BNP councillors were present at the racist English Defence League's violent, anti-Muslim demonstration in Stoke in January 2010. We need to campaign to get the vote out against the BNP and kick them out of Stoke-on-Trent once and for all.
Sheffield meeting: Danny Dorling on multiculturalism
It follows the successful petition, signed by more than 5,000 people to oppose prime minister David Cameron's attack on multiculturalism and Britain's Muslims. Professor Dorling, author of Injustice: Why Social Inequality Persists, will explain how it is racism and economic inequality - not multiculturalism - that is causing division in our society.
Details The meeting takes place on Tuesday 29 March from 6pm to 8pm at the Creative Lounge in the Workstation - next to the Sheffield Showroom, opposite the railway station.
Liverpool conference for trade unionists and antifascists
Antifascists and trade unionists in Liverpool are invited to a conference to discuss fighting fascism and Islamophobia on Saturday 2 April. The event has been called by Unite the union, Merseyside UAF, Merseyside Love Music Hate Racism in partnership with the Anthony Walker Foundation. The organisers say:
"As the cuts begin to bite harder in 'Austerity Britain', the far right and fascist organisations are sensing opportunities to grow. Although the British National Party has not been able to build on its electoral gains in 2009, it remains the most successful fascist organistion in the UK's history. At the same time, the English Defence League is now capable of mobilising large numbers of racist thugs on the streets of our multicultural cities and towns, mainly targeting Muslim communities.How do we stop fascism from growing? What are the links between the BNP and the EDL? How are these organisations linked with Europena ascist organisations and the far right in the US? By attacking multiculturalism and 'muslim extremists', does David Cameron enable the EDL and the BNP to appear more mainstream? This conference offers a chance to discuss these questions in the fight against fascism now and to learn lessons from the past. It will focus particularly on the contribution of trade union members to the antifascist struggle, but is is open to everyone interested in resisting the far right."
Speakers
Speakers at the event include Max Levitas, veteran of the 1936 Battle of Cable Street, Diane Holland (assistant general secretary, Unite the union), Louise Baldock (Liverpool city councillor), Paul Finegan (regional secretary Unite the union), Martin Smith (Love Music Hate Racism), Weyman Bennett (UAF), Barry Faulkner (Unite the union, education dept) and Anindya Bhattacharyya (UAF)
Sessions include: the threat of fascism in Europe, Is Islamophobia the new face of racism?, Trade unions and 'austerity' cuts, the Battle of Cable Street: Stopping the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s, and Stopping the EDL and the BNP today.
The conference will be followed by a Love Music Hate Racism gig, with the excellant RumJig and DJs at Mello Mello, Slater Street. Doors open 7.30pm.
Details
The conference takes place on Saturday 2 April from 10.15am to 16.30pm.
Venue: Unite the union's north-west regional office, Jack Jones House, 2 Churchill Way, Islington, Liverpool L3 8EF (near Lime Street station).