BNP resurface in Manchester

Richard posted this as a comment on another post but I think it’s significant enough to highlight for a number of self-evident reasons. BNP turn up in Manchester City Centre. Saturday 4th October This news will come should send a chill up everyone’s spine. The BNP turned out on Market Street in Manchester city centre…

Liam

October 5, 2008

1–2 minutes

Richard posted this as a comment on another post but I think it’s significant enough to highlight for a number of self-evident reasons.

BNP turn up in Manchester City Centre. Saturday 4th October

This news will come should send a chill up everyone’s spine. The BNP turned out on Market Street in Manchester city centre this Saturday lunchtime.

About a dozen members attempted to distribute their newspaper. No one can re-call the far right putting in appearance in the city centre since the early 80s when the NF were knock off the streets and denied a public presence. At the centre of this rabble was the Manchester BNP organiser Derek Adams. Without knowing what motivated the master race to turn out today. It should focus minds to the fact they felt confident to do this.
Market Street has been the focus of the Left wing and campaigning stalls for the last 2 decades. In fact we would consider it our turf ( even if it has to be shared with the odd crazies at times)

The good news was that it didn’t take much to disperse them. Respect & SWP members ensured that their appearance was short lived, and moved them off Market Street. There was also a healthy response to this action by members of the public.

17 responses to “BNP resurface in Manchester”

Carlos

October 7, 2008 at 1:08 am

That’s a bit of a misleading headline. The BNP are going from strength to strength in some parts of North Manchester, such as Newton Heath. That whole area up Oldham Road and over towards Middleton has seen them picking up a lot of votes. Its great that the far left can keep them off Market Street, but that doesn’t mean the BNP is underground. By using the fascists’ presence outside the Arndale as a key measure, one could really miss out on a serious recruiting ground building up a few miles north-east.

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upnorth

October 7, 2008 at 11:04 am

I agree Carlos but every time they show up in Manchester they have to be shifted. This will demoralise any fringe members who turn up with adams. North Manchester is a problem, the wards that cover that area need regular leaflets through the letterboxes.

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Adamski

October 7, 2008 at 12:17 pm

The fash probably just like the left think that this is a period when they can push out and recruit. I read in the comments section of Lenny’s blog a report that the BNP held their first meeting in Bethnal Green for years. Apparently the police arrested several SOAS students and anti-fash who were demonstrating outside the venue.

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steveR

October 7, 2008 at 4:31 pm

it’s extremely important to deny the fascists any platform for their dangerous filth (eg BNP, or “BPP” on the 18th oct in Leeds, outside HMV). This includes in and around housing estates and other working class areas; any antifa/socialist movement needs to take up such problems as the growth of the BNP in NE Manchester, but the idea that’s done by calling on people/workers to VOTE for some other candidate (that is ANY other candidate as UAF say or some particular candidate with some version of reformism as a panacea) is a nonsense! …anyway
I was disturbed to hear that last sat’s “antifa” planning meeting in Leeds was NOT in favour of confronting the fash but wants to go to the “rally” called by UAF for outside the Library! the BPP are a ‘hardline’ split from the BNP:- boots NOT suits! If this gang are allowed to peddle their filth in Leeds on sat 18th oct, it shall mean that no left-wing or progressive or immigrant organisations/individuals are safe on the streets….
but at least those at the UAF rally will hear about how what needs to be done is encouraging people to VOTE in May and any other bourgeois elections; and they’ll probably hear about the need for a new workers’ party – probably be able to JOIN it!! wahoo!

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steveR

October 7, 2008 at 4:32 pm

I live in Birmingham, btw!

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martin ohr

October 7, 2008 at 7:16 pm

steveR,

Things are changing in leeds, but I agree the planning meeting on saturday was bizarre. Seems as though workers power are positioning themselves as the ultra wing of UAF in the hope of picking off some recruits rather than are actually up for building some real action against the fascists.

Details of the counter demo are not in the public domain yet for obvious reasons but UAF agreed with us tonight not to limit to a rally outside the library which is excellent progress. Obviously there is plenty of chance for UAF to scale this back when they get talking to the police etc, but for now the momentum is back in the right direction.

All please consider coming to leeds on the 18th

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Chris S

October 8, 2008 at 8:08 pm

On BNP website they forgot to mention being run off Market Street, they also claim that they had more than one team out in Manchester.

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sean

October 19, 2008 at 1:35 pm

Sorry to disappoint you folks, but I was going to work past Market Street when the fascists were present. I was running a little late..9.10am…but there they were. They left around 12ish, with chants of nazis off our streets by two of our people. Somehow I doubt our trusty two had anything to do with their leaving, probably thought they had done enough perhaps, or moving elsewhere. It is simply not good enough to kid ourselves on. Fact is they are picking votes up and we can do nothing about it. Our ‘Don’t vote for fascists’ leaflets are a waste of time as far as I am concerned. We have swamped areas with them for years but still their vote goes up. Maybe we should stand candidates too? What do readers think?

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martin ohr

October 19, 2008 at 2:21 pm

Sean,

I agree with you about the tactics. There’s a report on the workers liberty website of our action yesterday which successfully wrecked the fascists demo in Leeds. UAF were forced to take a back seat as the action was largely organised by other local groups.

We need a genuine dialogue about how to beat the fascists, unfortunately it is tainted by various sectariana from lots of angles.

In leeds we are trying to build a political anti-fascist group. Below is the text of the leaflet which we drafted as our contribution to a joint campaign. No-one we’ve spoken to disagrees with any of it, but no other group will agree to put their name to it or amend it so that it can be improved.

Instead we look set to continue with a dis-united anti-fascist movement with rare moments of unity rather than the opposite- which is what we require:

“In the last 5 years fascists have grown in strength throughout England & Wales. The BNP now has around 58 councillors and a member on the London assembly. Now fascist groups like British Peoples Party feel emboldened to march through the streets of Leeds. It is right and necessary that we have united in physical opposition to the BPP, however if we are to defeat the fascist’s and their ideas we need a political response.

In 1997 millions of working class people voted New Labour into power with the belief that they would reverse the cuts in services and improve their lives. Instead the Blair and Brown governments presided over a massive increase in the proportion of insecure low paid temporary & agency employment. In Gordon Brown’s Britain older people are forced to work into their seventies to avoid penury in retirement. Millions on poverty wages cannot afford their own homes or are on endless waiting lists for too few council houses. Public services have been cut to the bone and/or privatised. In despair hundreds of thousands of working class people have voted for the BNP.

It will not work just to tell working class people to put their crosses next to one of the three mainstream bosses’ parties who have between them decimated many working class communities. It is not enough just to be ‘anti’-fascist we need to be ‘pro’ a positive alternative.

To beat the fascists, the anti-fascist movement must pose working class policies and politics against the policies of the BNP. We need a workers response to the current crisis and to the despair that the BNP taps into. This response would include amongst other things:
A living wage for all workers of at least £10 an hour and an end to the anti trade union laws
No homes repossessed, decent housing for all as right not a privilege
A reversal of privatisation of public services. Quality services for all to be funded by taxing the rich
Public ownership and workers control of the electricity, gas, rail & construction companies

We need a workers movement that not only fights the racism of the BNP, but fights the parties and the system that created the misery the BNP exploit. We need working class politics in the anti-fascist movement.

local contact for activists wanting to get involved: leedsantifash@gmail.com

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Jason

October 19, 2008 at 2:37 pm

I couldn’t make the Leeds demo but there’s quite an interesting report here
http://www.permanentrevolution.net/entry/2379

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martin ohr

October 19, 2008 at 3:17 pm

jason, thanks, I’ve posted up a comment on your site. I wouldn’t mind having a chat with your pr comrade who was at the demo sometime, if you get chance could you ask him/her to email me.

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Jason

October 19, 2008 at 4:05 pm

I will though I’m sure she’ll see this (would have already but my e-mail is playing up for some reason)- presumably she can use the leedsantifash address above.

I think there is a need for both a political response to fascism- much better propaganda including something like the stuff above and a workers’ united front to smash the fascists. Good action in Leeds- obviously a key is to build this movement, try to get some of the young involved in organised slef-defence and political work in the Asian and other Black communities of Leeds.

On the demands I’d be for including workers’ control in all of them- though you have in the utilities so that’s fine. More important though than that would be getting the leaflet or something like it passed by local TUC and TUs- and begin to involve as many workers locally in both the discussions and the actions.

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sean

October 22, 2008 at 5:27 pm

info for Martin. Just checked, the BNP have over 100 local and parish councillors and a seat on thr London Assembly. Seems they also have a very good chance of winning one seat at least in next years Euro elections! I still think our smear leaflets are a total waste of time. There must be a better way to challenge them.

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Jason

October 22, 2008 at 5:34 pm

Well yes there is:
1) rooted working class community campaigns against privatisation. against evictions, against cuts to services- i.e,. rebuild the working class organisations to fight for working class interests
2) organised self-defence to ensure the BNP cannot assemble or gather or hold public meetings
3) meetings of the left, trade unionists and all local people to plan activities against the racists and other attacks on the working class.

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sean

October 26, 2008 at 1:08 pm

Points 1 and 3 ok. Cannot agree with the violence implied in point 2. If we cannot beat them with logic and policies resorting to hooliganism and street attacks make us no better than them.

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Jason

October 26, 2008 at 5:35 pm

Points 1 and 3 are of course essential. I agree.

On point 2 you have, I suggest, completely misunderstood. No one- I repeat no one – is advocating steet attacks- where do you get this impression?

Self-defence means taking the minimum necessary force to prevent violence. When BNP supporters surrounded an Asian school teacher’s car smashed his windows and started beating him up it was I’d suggest appropriate for local people- Asian and white- to chase them off. Similarly when fascists bricked the house of an Asian family and attacked a person inside it was necessary and right to stop this happening.

That’s all. Actually I’m quite in favour of renumbering the points because only (on the current numbering) points 1 and 3 actually tackle the racism and despair that fascists exploit. However, it is not illegitimate and can be a matter of self-preservation to support the right of self-defence- this has nothing whatsoever to do with hooliganism or violence.

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sean

October 27, 2008 at 9:30 am

Hi Jason, Re point 2.
‘Organise self-defence to ensure they cannot assemble, gather or hold public meetings’
How can we stop them doing any of the above without the implied force? Individual racists could be dealt with using self-defence but the BNP are not like the NF of the 70’s. They simply don’t go out of their way to cause trouble or give offence. It was seen as counter-productive by Griffen hence him taking over from Tyndall in 2000. I believe their membership voted for him because Tyndall wanted a return to street politics and demo’s and this was opposed by Griffen as it was bad for their ‘public image’.There is no easy answer to their growing support, in fact they are crowing on their website about two councillors, Labour and Tory, crossing the floor to join them. Both cite their old parties no longer represent their old traditional values.
Who can deny Nu-Lab has let the working class down? We tried the old fashioned ‘smash them off our streets’ in the 70’s onwards. Good fun it was too, but it got us nowhere, only police records and more recently, public disdain as I witnessed in Market Street.
Any answers anyone?

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