Stand Up To Racism activists campaign against fascist Britain First in Altrincham, Greater Manchester (Picture: Manchester SUTR)
As next month’s local elections fast approach, fascist organisation Britain First is hopeful of electoral victories. But anti-racists stand in their way.
In Salford, Greater Manchester, Britain First chair, Ashlea Simon is running for the Walkden North ward. She came second last year, winning 21.6 percent—508 votes—after Labour with 1,213 votes.
Stand Up To Racism (SUTR) activists have been campaigning against Simon, including a mass leafleting mobilisation with up to 40 activists last month, followed by another last Sunday. In the Broadheath ward—which falls in the Altrincham constituency in Trafford—Donald Southworth is running under the ticket “Britain First—Housing for Locals.”
Earlier this month Manchester SUTR and trades council activists held a campaign stall with leaflets titled, “Stop Britain First” and chanted, “Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here.”
Meanwhile in Dartford, in Kent, the fascists are also mobilising. And SUTR activists held a day of action against Britain First leader Paul Golding’s election campaign last Sunday.
“The likes of Britain First are picking up on the government’s rhetoric and hostility towards refugees,” Ameen Hadi, Unison’s North West Unison Black members’ committee chair, told Socialist Worker. “This provides fodder for fascists to spew their shit to people.”
Ameen described this as “a really dangerous thing”. “Things are terrible for people at the moment, especially working class people,” he explained.
“The state of the cost of living crisis means people are looking for answers. Then you have fascists putting forward the answer to blame immigrants and refugees.”
Mike Killian is an activist with Manchester SUTR. He told Socialist Worker, “We need mobilisation against the fascists locally.
“Our campaign is looking good, but we don’t want to be complacent. Simon is trying to build from what she got last year. She’s a prominent figure on the far right and knows what she’s doing—508 votes isn’t a weak starting point.”
In response to SUTR’s campaigns, Britain First released a leaflet that denies it is racist. But it adds that the term “racist” has been “weaponised to stop all free and open debates” on immigration.
Mike says, “On the one hand, they’ve gone to great lengths to show their innocent face to gain support. But on the other hand, it’s quite defensive.”
Ameen added, “That poster shows they’re not confident. But we’ve been exposing them through leafletting.
“We’re trying to give confidence to the anti-racist majority to stand up and vote against the fascists when they’re also disillusioned with politics and politicians.”
Ameen thinks that Britain First is scoping out areas to build on for the 2025 general election. “In the last council elections some thought leaflets against Britain First would give them free publicity, so we didn’t really campaign against them.
“They weren’t convinced Britain First was a real threat—then they came second. That’s a lesson learned this time around. If we push them back now it could stop them standing in the general election for good.”
While the Tories plant the seeds for the fascists to grow, all sides of the Labour Party are failing to mount real opposition. Ameen said that at a TUC union federation meeting he attended last week, the question of Keir Starmer and his Labour Party was discussed. “People were sceptical of Starmer,” he explained.
“Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said that Starmer would be better off not parroting people’s fears about immigration and putting a positive message about what he can do for people. For Burnham, that’s only about bus journeys.
“Burnham claims he won his Red Wall seat as an MP four times in a row—not by pandering to crime and immigration, but by putting out a positive message. But he basically doesn’t challenge the racist arguments and beliefs that people have head on.”
In 2017, after a career under Gordon Brown’s government, Burnham became mayor of Greater Manchester. He is up for re-election in 2024.
Mike says that Labour’s “standard way” is to duck any difficult arguments. “Starmer is now banging on about the so-called small boats crisis to gain popularity.
“Meanwhile other Labour supporters talk about the cost of living crisis to avoid talking about racism or standing up for refugees to stay in favour.”
Ameen added, “Even the ‘better’ MPs such as Rebecca Long-Bailey avoid conversations about immigration on the doorsteps. They don’t support Starmer but accept it’s a topic they could lose support for and don’t challenge. At best, that’s validating racism.
“It’s not true that the Red Wall was lost because everyone in the North is racist. Actually, people were fed up with being told by politicians things were getting better when they’re actually getting worse.”
The fascists are trying to pick up on people’s disenchantment and to grow from the Tories’ anti-refugee scapegoating. In Salford, Britain First hasn’t stood in predominantly working class areas.
“They’ve stood in a more owner-occupied area,” Ameen explained. “Salford until the 2000s had a BME population of around 2 percent. In the last census in inner city Salford, nearer Manchester, it’s 18 percent.”
In 2021 87 percent of people in the Walkden North district identified as white. In terms of statistics, from income to anti‑social behaviour, Walkden isn’t out of the ordinary. Yet Ukip has finished second in some local elections.
Ameen added, “Salford was made up of heavy engineering and docks, but during the 1950s-60s people lost their jobs and left the area. We say an influx of immigrant population would make Salford more prosperous.”
The upcoming elections will see Britain First head multiple campaigns. Its leader Paul Golding and Nick Scanlon are standing for seats in Dartford, Kent.
Scanlon ran last year for Britain First in Greenwich, London, and for the British National Party in 2014. The pair want to deport all illegal migrants.
Paul Harding is running for Britain First for a seat in Rochford District Council in Essex. And others on the far right are standing in the New Forest and Bideford, North Devon.
And it’s not just Britain First. Dozens of fascist and far right candidates, both in organisations and as independents, are standing.
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