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Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is a British
anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
group. Its joint secretaries are Weyman Bennett and Sabby Dhalu, formerly of the
National Assembly Against Racism The National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR) was a British anti-racist and anti-fascist group. NAAR was a predominantly black-led national anti-racist grouping, formed after the acrimonious collapse of the Anti-Racist Alliance. It first met on 4 Fe ...
(NAAR). Its chair is Steve Hart of
Unite the Union Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a trade union in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus (trade union), Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union. A general union ...
and its assistant secretary was the late Jude Woodward of Socialist Action. Since 2013, UAF has mainly operated in partnership with its sister organisation Stand Up To Racism, which has many of the same officers as UAF: Bennett and Dhalu as joint secretaries,
Diane Abbott Diane Julie Abbott (born 27 September 1953) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has been serving as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987 Unit ...
as president and co-chairs Dave Ward of the Communication Workers' Union and Talha Ahmad of the
Muslim Council of Britain The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is an umbrella body of Muslim organisations in the United Kingdom, with over 500 affiliated mosques and organisations. It was formed in 1994 in response to British government's expressed wish for a single r ...
.


History

Unite Against Fascism (UAF) was formed in Great Britain in late 2003 in response to electoral successes by the BNP. Its main elements were the
Anti-Nazi League The Anti-Nazi League (ANL) was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right g ...
and the
National Assembly Against Racism The National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR) was a British anti-racist and anti-fascist group. NAAR was a predominantly black-led national anti-racist grouping, formed after the acrimonious collapse of the Anti-Racist Alliance. It first met on 4 Fe ...
, with the support of the
Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...
(TUC) and leading British unions such as the
Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...
(T&G) (now
Unite Unite may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Unite'' (1GN album), 2016 * ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 * ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1992 * ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005 Songs *"Unite!" ...
) and
UNISON Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...
. According to '' Red Pepper'' magazine, UAF was set up by the Socialist Workers Party and the National Assembly Against Racism. Among the union leaders backing UAF were Billy Hayes of the Communication Workers Union,
Andy Gilchrist Andrew Charles Gilchrist (born 5 December 1960) is a British trade unionist and former firefighter who served as the General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union from 2000 to 2005. Early life Gilchrist was born the son of Edward and Shirley Gi ...
and
Mick Shaw Michael Shaw (16 July 1975 – 19 March 2012) was an English rugby league footballer who played for Leeds, Bramley, Rochdale Hornets and Halifax. Playing career Shaw started his professional career at Leeds, joining the club from Elland in 19 ...
of the
Fire Brigades Union The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is a trade union in the United Kingdom for wholetime firefighters (including officers up to chief fire officer / firemaster), retained firefighters and emergency control room staff. History Early 20th century ...
,
Mark Serwotka Mark Henryk Serwotka (; born 26 April 1963) is a retired trade unionist who was General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the largest trade union representing British civil servants. He was President of the Trades Unio ...
of the PCS public service workers' union, and
Christine Blower Christine Blower, Baroness Blower (born 20 April 1951) is a British schoolteacher and trade unionist who served as the eleventh General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, a trade union representing qualified teachers across England and ...
and
Kevin Courtney Kevin Courtney (born 16 August 1959) is a Welsh former school teacher, and the former joint (along with Mary Bousted) General Secretary of the National Education Union, the largest teachers' trade union for England and Wales. Early life He wa ...
of the
NUT Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...
. Founding signatories included
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
, later Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In 2005, the anti-fascist magazine ''
Searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely luminosity, bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a part ...
'' disaffiliated from UAF after an argument over tactics to defeat the BNP. At UAF's 2007 national conference, speakers ranged from cabinet minister
Peter Hain Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain, (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State ...
to Edie Friedman of the
Jewish Council for Racial Equality HIAS+JCORE (formerly the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, JCORE) is a Jewish organisation which provides a Jewish voice on refugee and asylum issues in the UK. HIAS+JCORE campaigns on refugee and asylum issues, including drawing connections ...
and
Muhammad Abdul Bari Muhammad Abdul Bari (; born October 1953), is a Bangladeshi-born British physicist, writer, teacher, and community leader. He is a former secretary of Muslim Aid, a former chairman of the East London Mosque, and a former secretary general o ...
of the
Muslim Council of Britain The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is an umbrella body of Muslim organisations in the United Kingdom, with over 500 affiliated mosques and organisations. It was formed in 1994 in response to British government's expressed wish for a single r ...
(MCB), as well as figures from the major UK
trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
. At UAF's 2009 national conference, Bari was again a guest speaker. UAF has worked closely with
Love Music Hate Racism Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) is a music-oriented antiracism campaign based in United Kingdom, Britain. The campaign aims to bring people together and promote unity through the power of music. LMHR was born in the tradition of the Rock Against R ...
, described by UAF/SWP's Weyman Bennett as "the cultural wing of our movement".


Protests against the British National Party

Unite Against Fascism states on its website that its aim is to deny the
British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...
(BNP) any chance of "gaining an electoral foothold" stating that "there is a real danger that the BNP could get a significant platform in elected institutions". It claims the support of organisations representing labour, teachers, and rights activists. In November 2007, UAF organised a rally of over 1,000 people when BNP leader
Nick Griffin Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British far-right politician who was chairman of the British National Party (BNP) from 1999 to 2014, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2009 to 2014. Follow ...
and Holocaust denier
David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, especially Nazi Germany. He was found to be a Holocaust denier in a British court ...
spoke at the
Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...
. On 9 June 2009, UAF demonstrated against a BNP press conference given by Griffin and
Andrew Brons Andrew Henry William Brons (born 3 June 1947) is a British politician and former MEP. Long active in far-right politics in Britain, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber for the fascist British ...
outside the
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
following their election as MEPs. Demonstrators marched towards the group with placards, chanting anti-Nazi slogans, and threw eggs at Griffin, forcing the abandonment of the press conference. Members of the press were also hit. The protesters also kicked Griffin's car and beat it with placards as he was led away from the scene. Two members of the public were hospitalised as a result of the demonstration. Griffin claimed that the attack was carried out with the backing of the Labour Party. The following day, UAF demonstrated at the BNP's next attempt to hold a press conference at a pub in Miles Platting, North
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. They chanted anti-fascist slogans and tried to drown out Griffin by playing
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
songs at high volume. One protester was arrested after spitting in the direction of a car belonging to a BNP member. In January 2010, when the Pendle branch of the UAF removed a
wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape. In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and C ...
from a war memorial in
Nelson, Lancashire Nelson is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, it had a population of 29,135 in the 2011 Census. Nelson is north of Burnley and south-west of Colne. Nelson developed as a mill town ...
, that had been laid down by Councillor Adam Grant, a veteran and BNP politician, Richard MacSween of the Pendle UAF said, "The BNP have left a wreath and we have removed it because we don't approve of fascism." In response, Labour Councillor George Adam, from the Nelson and District branch of the
Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. Membership Service in th ...
, said, "I'm annoyed – they have no right to remove that wreath. The BNP is a legitimate political party and they have a right to lay down a wreath just as any other members of the public do." BNP Councillor Brian Parker added, "It's disgusting, and it's theft."


Arrests and violence

On 19 August 2009, police arrested 19 protesters during a demonstration by UAF against the BNP's Red, White and Blue Festival in
Codnor Codnor is a village and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. Codnor is a former mining village and had a population of 3,766 (including Cross Hill) taken at the 2011 Census. It is approximately 12 miles from Derby ...
,
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
. Four people were charged, three with public order offences and one with unlawfully obstructing the highway. On 22 October 2009, the UAF demonstration against Nick Griffin's appearance on the BBC's '' Question Time'' programme resulted in injuries to three police officers. UAF national officer and (then) SWP National Secretary Martin Smith was found guilty of assaulting one of the police officers at South Western Magistrates' Court, London, on 7 September 2010. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order, with 80 hours' unpaid work, and was fined £450 pending an appeal. On 20 March 2010, demonstrations from UAF and the
English Defence League The English Defence League (EDL) was a Far-right politics, far-right, Islamophobia, Islamophobic organisation active in England from 2009 until the mid-late 2010s. A social movement and Advocacy group, pressure group that employed street demo ...
(EDL) in
Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
led to violent confrontations and the arrest of at least 55 UAF supporters, including the UAF protest organiser Weyman Bennett, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit
violent disorder Violent disorder is a statutory offence in England and Wales. It is created bsection 2(1)of the Public Order Act 1986. Sections 2(1) to (4) of that Act provide: :(1) Where 3 or more persons who are present together use or threaten unlawful violenc ...
. At least three EDL supporters were also arrested, and two UAF members were taken to hospital with a minor head and a minor ear injury. After Bennett was charged and released, he accused the police of being hostile to anti-racists and called for an inquiry into the police's actions that day. The police, while criticising the EDL for "vitriolic name-calling" blamed people predominantly associated with UAF for provoking violence and said that they "acted with, at times, extreme violence". All charges against Bennett were eventually dropped. In response to this news he was quoted as saying, "This is a victory for anti-fascists and for the right to protest. I'm proud to say that the threat of these charges has not deterred any of us from continuing to stand up against the EDL. I can now continue my work without this serious false allegation hanging over me. It is imperative we continue to protest to protect our multi-racial communities." On 30 August 2010, violence occurred in
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
,
East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
, during a UAF protest against a march organised by a group called the English Nationalist Alliance. A spokesman for the police, who were attempting to keep 250 protesters and marchers apart, said, "Unfortunately a small group from the counter-demonstration AFresisted this and threw missiles at the police." There were fourteen arrests during the violence. On 2 June 2013, 58 anti-fascist demonstrators were arrested by police under Section 14 of the
Public Order Act Public Order Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Malaysia, Rhodesia, Sierra Leone, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, relating to public order offences. List Hong Kong *The Pu ...
for failing to move up the street away from a BNP demonstration outside the
Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
against what the BNP describe as Islamic "hate preachers". Of the 58, only five were charged and their cases were dismissed at Westminster Magistrates' Court in April 2014. The police had earlier banned the BNP from marching from Woolwich Barracks to the Houses of Parliament, fearing violence.


Criticism

In 2006, David Tate argued that the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) was seeking to dominate the UAF, and a 2014 report in the ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'' described it as a "front" for the SWP. The same criticism has been made of UAF's sister organisation Stand Up To Racism. David Toube claims that the organisations involved in the UAF avoid condemnation of
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. The
LGBT rights activist A list of notable LGBTQ social movements, LGBTQ rights activists who have worked to advance LGBTQ rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically. Albania * Xheni Karaj, founder of Aleanca LGBT org ...
Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is an Australian-born British human rights campaigner, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party's Parliament of the United Kingdo ...
has accused UAF of a selective approach to
bigotry Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that pers ...
: "UAF commendably opposes the BNP and EDL but it is silent about Islamist fascists who promote anti-Semitism,
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
,
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...
and sectarian attacks on non-extremist Muslims (see also
Islam and violence The use of Political violence, politically and Religious violence, religiously-motivated violence in Islam dates back to History of Islam, its early history. Islam has its origins in the behavior, sayings, and rulings of the Muhammad in Islam, I ...
). It is time the UAF campaigned against the Islamist far right as well as against the EDL and BNP far right." The journalist
Andrew Gilligan Andrew Paul Gilligan (born 22 November 1968) is a British policy adviser and ex-journalist. He served as a special adviser to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, having previously worked as a transport adviser to Boris Johnson both as Mayor of London ...
has claimed that the UAF's reluctance to tackle
Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...
is because several of its own members are supporters of such extremism. The UAF's vice-chairman,
Azad Ali Azad Ali is a British Muslim activist and a spokesman for the Islamic Forum of Europe. He was founding chair of the Muslim Safety Forum, is Vice-Chair of Unite Against Fascism (UAF), and former director of engagement at Muslim Engagement and Devel ...
, is also community affairs co-ordinator of the
Islamic Forum of Europe The Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) is an Islamic organisation based in the United Kingdom with affiliates in Europe.Muslim supremacist group dedicated to changing 'the very infrastructure of society, its institutions, its culture, its political order and its creed from ignorance to Islam'". Nigel Copsey, Professor of Modern History at
Teesside University Teesside University is a public university with its main campus in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire in North East England. It was officially opened as ''Constantine Technical College'' in 1930, before becoming a polytechnic in 1969, and finally g ...
, wrote that Ali's association with IFE made UAF " unthe risk of turning a blind eye to
Islamist extremism Islamic extremism refers to extremist beliefs, behaviors and ideologies adhered to by some Muslims within Islam. The term 'Islamic extremism' is contentious, encompassing a spectrum of definitions, ranging from academic interpretations of Is ...
". Ali was suspended as a civil servant in the Treasury after he wrote approvingly on his blog of an Islamic militant who said that as a Muslim he is religiously obliged to kill British soldiers in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, in 2009. According to Gilligan, Michael Adebolajo, one of the murderers of Lee Rigby in 2013, spoke "on the margins" of a 2009 UAF demonstration in Harrow. Secretary Weyman Bennett responded by saying that Adebolajo was not an official speaker.


References


External links


Stand Up To RacismUnite Against Fascism / Rock Against Racism archive at the Bishopsgate Institute
{{SWP 2003 establishments in the United Kingdom Anti-fascist organisations in the United Kingdom Anti-racist organisations in the United Kingdom Political organisations based in London Organizations established in 2003 Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom