In or Out, we must show solidarity with migrants and refugees. March with us on 20 June.
The EU referendum has dominated political debate, and the left is divided on which way – if at all – to vote. Yet it seems clear that, whatever the outcome, attacks on migrants and refugees will intensify; whatever the outcome, we need to unite and mobilise against these. We start on World Refugee Day on […]
Migrant workers: legislating for precarity
Mikhil Karnik, an immigration lawyer in Manchester, explains how changes in immigration law are driving migrant workers towards greater precarity One measure of the distinction made between EU nationals and other immigrants is the disproportionate use of detention in Britain. Despite making up less than half the migrant population, non-EU migrants constitute about 90% of those […]
Fortress Europe: rs21 interviews Matt Carr
rs21’s Kate B interviews Matt Carr, author of Fortress Europe: Inside the War on Immigration.
What we’re seeing is a return of struggle
The election of Malia Bouattia as President of the National Union of Students was a stunning victory for the left. Matt Collins interviews Sai Englert a member of Malia’s campaign team, a NUS national executive member and a long-time stalwart of the student left on the politics of the student movement, and the new opportunities for the […]
Chicago teachers join Manchester’s biggest May Day for years
Tara Stamps and Matt Luskin from the Chicago Teachers’ Union joined Manchester’s biggest International Workers’ Day festival for years. Ian Allinson reports. Manchester TUC had organised a huge festival for May Day this year. Despite hail, rain and sun we marched into the city centre to Sackville Gardens and the Mechanics Institute (the birthplace of […]
EU referendum: for an internationalist leave position
Recently rs21 members met to discuss and debate our attitudes towards the EU referendum and related issues, in particular migrant solidarity. Migrant solidarity work is central to rs21. Initiatives like London2Calais have illustrated the possibility of combining organising practical solidarity with migrants with a strong anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist politics, as well as reaching out to new […]
TV Review: The Aliens
The Aliens is E4’s new drama with direct parallels to the situation for migrants and refugees today says Tazmin Aldis. Aliens creator Fintan Ryan uses the premise of a future where Aliens arrived on Earth nearly 40 years ago and, despite their uncanny resemblance to the human kind, they are ruthlessly discriminated against – banished […]
EU referendum: A crisis of the right, not an opportunity for the left
Rob Owen continues our debate on the EU referendum by arguing the left can abstain from the vote without abstaining from the politics. How to respond to a referendum is a tactical question that requires careful consideration of the political context it takes place in, the questions at stake and whether it presents a chance to […]
Fascists humiliated in Dover
Steve Eason, Kate Bradley and Ashmeet T report from the counter-demonstration against the far-right South East Alliance, who marched through Dover in very small numbers on 2 April ,2016.
Revolutionary socialists and the EU referendum campaign: sorting out the real issues
The EU referendum offers no clear route for socialists; instead, John Walker argues, our focus should be on organising against the attack on migrants and workers which will intensify no matter the outcome.
‘Shut down Yarlswood’: momentum grows at large demo
On Saturday 12 March, Movement for Justice by Any Means Necessary organised a demonstration calling for the closure of Yarlswood detention centre. Duncan Thomas reports.
Rumble in the “Jungle”
Mitch Mitchell reports on the French state’s destruction in the Calais refugee camp on February 29.
‘Angry White People’, a review
David Renton reviews Hsiao-Hung Pai’s Angry White People: coming face-to-face with the British far right. He finds an ‘exemplary account’ of the rise of the English Defence League and bemoans the left’s failure to contest the same terrain.
rs21 podcast, episode 1: refugees and the rise of the far right
Episode 1 of the rs21 podcast is finally here! Duncan Thomas introduces the show. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/250534323″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
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 […]
Sexual and domestic violence after austerity: it’s bigger than Roosh V
Kat Burdon-Manley argues Roosh V the unsavoury face of a much bigger problem with structural and institutional racism and sexism Bang, Day Bang, 30 Bangs, Bang Poland, Bang Iceland, Bang Estonia, Bang Lithuania, Don’t Bang Denmark, and Bang Ukraine are just some of the titles of Roosh V’s books, and pretty much sum up his character […]
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 […]
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 […]
‘No more Jungle, no more borders’ – a report from Calais refugee protest
On Saturday 23 January, residents of the Calais refugee camp protested the destruction of the their shelters and the French government’s attempts to forcibly move them into new accommodation, described by many as a ‘prison’ or ‘concentration camp’. Duncan Thomas reports.
St Pancras die-in protests clearing of Calais refugee camp
Kate Bradley reports On Saturday, around 200 people gathered at St Pancras International train station in London to protest against the clearance of the ‘Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais. The demonstration was called by London2Calais, a group that has been providing humanitarian and political support to refugees and migrants stranded in Calais since August 2015. […]
Resist the forcible eviction of Calais refugees
While conditions in ‘the Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais have long been harsh, many residents are resisting the French government’s attempts to move them to new accommodation.
Calais and the refugee crisis: building solidarity and thinking through the politics
Mitch Mitchell from London2Calais looks back at six months of activism to deliver aid to refugees trapped in northern France.
Fascist success in the French elections: what will it mean for the refugees?
There has been a growing hostility to the refugees in the Calais camps, particularly since the Paris killings. Mitch Mitchell reflects on what the electoral success of the Front National in the French regional elections will mean for the refugees.
American protests challenge anti-migrant racism
Many politicians have been using the attacks in Paris to whip up prejudice against migrants – in Europe and also the US. But there have also been protests in America calling for solidarity with refugees, report Lauren Nickell, Sofia Arias and Akunna Eneh. This article originally appeared in the American newspaper Socialist Worker. Defying a tide of […]
After Paris: no to imperialist wars, no to Islamophobia, no to attacks on refugees
We are horrified by the attacks in Paris: we join in mourning the dead, and send our condolences to the loved ones of those who have died. These attacks are part of the war raging across the Middle East, including the deaths of 40 people killed in Beirut and 17 killed in Baghdad on Friday […]
Migrant solidarity in London and Manchester
Two activists, Ewa Barker and Kate Bradley, discuss their involvment in migrant solidarity in London and Manchester Ewa Barker initiated Manchester to Calais. Here she explains the dynamic within the movement in Manchester The response to our page on Facebook was phenomenal! A deluge, hundreds of emails, making offers, asking advice, intending to start similar actions […]
Migration FAQ: why now?
Nick Evans answers some common questions around the migration crisis Why now? More people around the world were forcibly displaced in 2014 than ever before in recorded history. Of those 59.5 million people, 19.5 million were classed by the UN as refugees. The overwhelming majority of those refugees were hosted in developing regions, but unprecedented numbers have […]
Refugee Solidarity Summit hears of racism and injustice, pledges to fight back
Campaigners from the TUC, the Green Party and many migrant organisations gathered in London on Saturday to discuss how to fight the government’s racist policies and scapegoating. Amy Downham reports. Saturday’s Refugee Solidarity Summit, hosted by london2calais, involved around 100 people – a diverse mix in terms of race, age and gender, including many young women […]
Eurostar protest shuts shit down in solidarity with refugees
Peter Norman reports from Friday’s action at London Eurostar terminal in solidarity with refugees in Calais. As I walked around Kings Cross station on Friday evening, alongside but separate from other small of groups of demonstrators, I wondered what on earth was going to happen. Twenty minutes later, 300 people, nearly all young, many BME, […]
Protesters gather in Dover to demand open borders and migrant rights
Roderick C and Mitch Mitchell report on Saturday’s Open Dover demo on the Kent coast (Open Dover demonstration in support of migrants – photo by Steve Eason) Around 500 protesters turned up on a rainy afternoon in Dover yesterday to stand in solidarity with refugees trapped in the camps in Calais. The protest was organised […]