06/12/2024
Declan Muholland, a Labour Party councillor in Burnopfield and Dipton, warns anti-fascists that racism is thriving in the dark and damp of deindustrialised and neglected northern towns, and says that just building on anti-racism in wealthier liberal towns will not work unless there is a class analysis included. Mr Mulholland writes in the socialist quarterly Tribune. He says "The riots on the street now appear to have simmered down, but the circumstances that created them endure. Often, when socialists talk about the need for ‘class unity’ in these moments, it seems like we’re reciting a passage from scripture, or making a demand detached from realities on the ground. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Class politics is the only way that this latest iteration of fascism can be defeated. .... The counterdemonstrations that followed the rioting were inspiring but also limited. The largest crowds were in cosmopolitan urban areas, not in the communities with relatively little diversity which were targeted by the fascists. In lower-income, predominantly white working-class communities outside of larger cities, the politics that led to the wave of racist violence are likely to continue to grow, until the narrative behind them is deconstructed in terms that those communities can relate to..... At the same time many working-class communities in the North East lost their industry, they also lost their connection to class politics through the trade union movement. The absence of class politics and working-class solidarity has left a vacuum. Where we would argue that neighbours, regardless of their backgrounds, have common interests in fighting poverty pay, service cuts, and profiteering corporations driving up the cost of living, working-class people are instead having their worldview shaped online — often by anti-union billionaires like Elon Musk..... If we’re serious about building a broad movement to fight those provocateurs, we have to focus on the common causes of our class. That means a programme for renewal: good, unionised jobs in place of low pay and insecurity; rebuilding social institutions that can provide a sense of ownership over the places we live; active local government that empowers communities through wealth building; an absolute rejection of poverty, especially among children, through policies like free school meals and the end to the two-child cap; a properly-funded apprenticeship scheme and youth services to offer paths forward for our young people; and a commitment to investing in deprived areas."
