The Legacy of Antonio Gramsci
Key ideas and theories need revaluing and upgrading for our times. Gian Luigi Deiana from the Casa Gramsci institute discusses the life and legacy of Antonio Gramsci and the question of popular sovereignty today.
revolutionary reflections | The KPD and the United Front during the Weimar Republic
This article by Marcel Bois was originally published in a collection of essays in German by Marx21 on the German Communist Party (KPD). It sets out the history of the United Front in Germany from the years 1920 to 1926. The United Front was a tactic developed by the Communist International in the early 1920s and this […]
The Political Power of Music: in conversation with Dave Randall
Colin Revolting speaks to musician and activist Dave Randall about his experience of ‘mixing pop and politics’ and the journey which led him to write Sound System – The Political Power of Music. Interview transcribed by William Cleary. What was the journey that led you to write Sound System? I felt, when I was a young musician, that […]
revolutionary reflections | Critical Theory in the Age of Trump Part 1: Organised Pessimism
The election of Trump has raised the stakes in terms of how the left should respond to the growing crises of economics, politics, ecology and geopolitics. Joe Sabatini explores the work of the Frankfurt School in this context. Photo courtesy of iamyouasheisme.wordpres.com Footnotes to this piece are included in the PDF. 20170330_Critical Theory Part 1 Methodological introduction […]
Racist Scottish Defence League humbled in Alloa
Luke from Edinburgh UAF reports The Scottish Defence League came to Alloa yesterday as they thought they could take advantage of a 2000 signature petition claiming that the council was giving refugees priority for housing over disabled and homeless locals. Just 40 SDL were confronted with a loud and proud demonstration of 200 overwhelmingly local […]
After fascism, what?
David Renton, author of Fascism: Theory and Practice, discusses whether previous definitions of ‘fascism’ fit with the world we see today. The question of whether Donald’s Trump victory marks a triumph for fascism in the US depends, as always, on which definition of fascism you use. For most of the past fifty years, the principal way […]
Challenging racism on the Kent coast
The need for a mass anti-racist movement in Britain needs to be at the very heart of socialist politics today. Here Bunny La Roche and Ben Millard reflect on the experience of anti-racist organising in Kent over the last twelve months. Kent Anti Racism Network (KARN) has been busy over the last year. But it […]
Anarchy in the UK? The politics and people that produced punk rock
For the 40th anniversary of the birth of punk, Colin Revolting considers its origins and influences. The student butterfly that flapped its wings in Paris, May 1968 lead to an earthquake which shook factory walls across western Europe in the 1970’s. Out of the dust emerged an ugly snarling rodent called punk rock. The 1970s […]
French and British police block Calais Convoy
John Walker reports on the Convoy to Calais on Saturday, which say French and British police block activists from travelling to France to deliver aid On Saturday, several hundred of us confronted the police at the Dover ferry terminal then went to picket the French embassy in London, because the British and French authorities, acting […]
How will EU debate impact migrant solidarity?
A talk given by Anindya Bhattacharyya at the recent London2Calais summit about how the migrant solidarity movement can respond to the debates around migrants in the context of the referendum on Britain’s EU membership. I want to talk in general terms about the political situation in Britain, and the way that debates around migrants are […]
Hundreds resist fascist march in Dover despite violent attacks from Nazi thugs
report by rs21, pictures by Steve Eason There were ugly scenes in Dover last Saturday as around 150-200 Nazis tried to march through the town and were confronted by 400 or so antifascists. The antifascists managed to obstruct the planned route of the Nazi march, but police responded by kettling counter demonstrators and ferrying the […]
Nazis smash and draw swastika in blood on anti-fascist coaches on way to Dover demo
Report via Anindya Bhattacharyya Around 200 anti-fascists from London, who were en-route to protest against fascists in Dover, are currently held at Maidstone service station after a coachload of Nazi’s smashed up one of the anti-fascist coaches. While stopped at the services, fascists wearing Combat 18 and Enoch Powell t-shirts ran at the anti-fascist demonstrators […]
Dover calling: antifascists get ready to defend migrants from Nazi threat
Antifascists are heading to Dover tomorrow, Saturday 30 January, to oppose an anti-migrant demo organised by various Nazi outfits. rs21 spoke to activists involved in building the counter mobilisation about their aims and hopes. The British National Party has been smashed to pieces and English Defence League is a shadow of its former self. But that doesn’t mean the […]
“You can’t organise a riot”: racism, riots and arrests in 1981
In memory of John “Brad” Bradbury of the Specials who topped the charts with Ghost Town whilst Britain burst into flames of riots and racism in 1981 – Colin Revolting remembers how anti – racists danced to the Specials and fought against racism and unemployment. January A fire at a house party in New […]
Corbyn: What Next? Issue 5 of rs21 magazine
Rob Owen writes on the political context around the launch of our new magazine. Issue 5 will be available on the demonstration outside the Tory party conference in Manchester this Sunday. The world around us has changed. When our last issue went to press the English (and Welsh) radical left was still bruised from the […]
Dover: what kind of anti fascist movement do we need?
A letter from Thanet anti-fascists. On Saturday 12 September, the National Front, South East Alliance and other Nazi outfits numbering around 200-250 were able to march in Dover, declaring ‘Refugees Not Welcome Here’. Around a dozen people from Thanet joined the call out by the Anti Fascist Network (AFN) to counter them. When we turned […]
Nazis routed and humiliated in Liverpool as hundreds turn out to block their march
Pat D reports and reflects on last Saturday’s successful anti-fascist mobilisation in Merseyside Liverpool is a famous city. National Action, a neo-Nazi group, wanted to be famous too, which is why they chose the “Red City” as the location for their “White Man March”, planned for Saturday 16 August. The problem was that Liverpool is famous, […]
Convoy to Calais part 2
Mitch Mitchell continues his report from the convoy to Calais, bringing food, clothes and solidarity to the migrants camped there.
“You can’t organise a riot”: racism, riots and arrests in 1981
In memory of John “Brad” Bradbury of the Specials who topped the charts with Ghost Town whilst Britain burst into flames of riots and racism in 1981 – Colin Revolting remembers how anti – racists danced to the Specials and fought against racism and unemployment. January A fire at a house party in New Cross […]
No nazis in Stamford Hill!
Charlie Hore reports On Saturday afternoon (18 April) a number of small nazi groups tried to hold an antisemitic rally in Stamford Hill, Hackney. They failed, managing nothing more than walking a couple of hundred metres along the pavement, and then back again to their starting point, barracked every step of the way by a […]
EDL prevented from breaking through in Oxford
Anti-fascist demonstrators significantly outnumbered the fascist English Defence League in Oxford on Saturday, and prevented them from marching through the centre of the city.
Gang abuse in Oxford
Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale argue we need to prevent racists from exploiting the suffering of victims of abuse but we also need to go on the offensive against the cover-ups. The article includes distressing descriptions of sexual abuse. It was originally posted on their Sexism Class Violence website. Last year seven men from Oxford were […]
EDL outnumbered by anti-fascists in Manchester
About 200 to 300 supporters of the racist English Defence League (EDL) were bussed in to Manchester’s Albert Square today (Saturday). They held a rally inside a police kettle. Meanwhile around 500 anti-fascists gathered in Piccadilly Gardens for a rally organised by Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and other groups. This was followed by a brief march around the city centre. […]
Antifascist demo in Cricklewood sees off squad of racists – pictures
(pictures and captions by Steve Eason) Some 130 protesters from North West London United and the Anti-Fascist Network easily outnumbered a crew of 18 fascists who called themselves the South East Alliance. The only repeatable comment from the fascists was: “We’ve only been in Cricklewood five minutes and we don’t like it.” The crowd on our side included local UAF activists, workers in the RMT […]
Antifascists arrested at Oxford demonstration against the National Front
Police arrested four anti-fascists at a demonstration against the National Front in Oxford on Saturday. The National Front had called a national mobilisation against “Asian grooming” and antifascists had gathered to prevent them from marching through Oxford. Two of the arrested antifascists are now facing charges. Sophie Williams and Nick Evans report. (pic of anti-NF […]
Six pointers for antifascists after the 21 June attacks in Tottenham
See also: Antifascist vigil attracts 200 in show of unity and defiance On Saturday night a free music festival in Tottenham, north London, was violently attacked by a racist gang targeting audience members in general and, judging from media reports, Jews in particular. North London Antifascists has details, including video and evidence pointing to […]
EDL Outnumbered in Colchester
On Thursday 22 May the English Defence League (EDL) returned to the streets of Colchester. Around 100 antifascists and students gathered to oppose less than 30 EDL members.
Manchester antifascists celebrate BNP defeat
Around 60 demonstrators from Unite Against Fascism gathered outside the Euro election count at Manchester Town Hall
Newcastle: report from antifascist mobilisation
On Saturday, around 250 people turned out to oppose an EDL march in Newcastle. The counter-demonstration had been organised by Newcastle Unites, a local grouping supported by UAF, Labour councillors and others.