23/02/06
Stop the BNP in 2006 national conference - a major success
Over 600 anti-fascist activists from around the country met in London on Saturday 18 February for a successful conference organised by Unite Against Fascism and SERTUC on stopping the British National Party (BNP) at the 4 May local elections. Speakers and participants debated the reasons for the growth of the BNP's vote and effective strategies to stop the BNP before the fascists are able to make a major national breakthrough.
The key theme of the conference echoed throughout the day was the absolute necessity for unity in the face of one of the greatest threats in history: the threat of the physical annihilation
of millions of people in the hands of fascists. It is clear that,
while this threat is not at a level equivalent to that of the 1930s,
the last twenty years have seen the growth across Europe of fascist
parties, gaining electoral ground and influencing mainstream politics.
All the platforms of the conference reflected and reinforced the
breadth of support for Unite Against Fascism, in particular the
alliances that have been possible to build in its two and a half year
existence, which includes the trade union movement, Muslim, Jewish,
Sikh, Hindu and other faith communities, Black and Asian communities,
lesbian and gay organisations and the disability rights groups,
students and young people, MPs and MEPs, artists and many more. As
several speakers pointed out, the vast majority of British society,
united against the mortal threat that the growth of fascism
represents. The unity and diversity of the campaign was reflected in
the speaker line up, featuring Ken Livingstone, trade unionists Keith
Sonnet (Deputy General Secretary of UNISON), Billy Hayes
(Communications Workers Union General Secretary), Barry Camfield (TGWU
Assistant General Secretary), Mark Serwotka (PCS General Secretary),
Paul Mackney (NATFHE General Secretary) MPs Michael Meacher, Sadiq
Khan and Linda Riordan, Dr Daud Abdullah Assistant Secretary General
Muslim Council of Britain, Dabinderjit Singh from the Sikh Federation
and Sikh Secretariat UK, LGBT rights organisations such as Ben
Summerskill from Stonewall, Kirsten Hearn from REGARD and
representatives from Muslim LGBT group IMAAN, Kat Fletcher (NUS
President) and Glyn Ford MEP, as well as Holocaust survivor Henry
Guterman MBE and Auschwitz survivor Leon Greenman OBE.
Click here for a full report on the conference.