I attended the counter-demonstration against Parents Against Grooming UK (PAGUK) in Hull last Saturday.
This group, led by a Restore Britain member, cynically weaponises the question of child sexual abuse to spread its racist, anti-migrant agenda.
The counter-protest was organised by Stand Up To Racism (SUTR) and the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), and drew in a layer of young Green Party members who, it should be said, represented the most energetic section of the left present.
The counter-demonstration numbered around 40 people, mostly older activists heavily involved in SUTR, with no more than ten younger workers and students. The PAGUK mobilisation numbered roughly 60. Both sides were disorganised, but more so the right.
When I arrived, I immediately began distributing leaflets on the far right and selling The Communist, concentrating particularly on the bold layer of young people grouped at the front of the demonstration.
In the absence of any alternative, the leadership of the counter-demonstration was in the hands of the usual SUTR/SWP organisers.
Their slogans, as is often the case, were dominated by moralism, and lacked any political substance – let alone talk about class struggle or socialism.
Taking opportunities
Taking the opportunity to intervene, I used the megaphone to give an impromptu speech, explaining why the far right is feeling emboldened. I linked the rise of racist attacks to the crisis of capitalism, and raised the idea that the main task facing workers and youth today is to get organised for class struggle.
This was followed by some slogans, with one borrowed from the Leeds comrades proving particularly successful: “Protecting women? What do you mean? You’re supporting Epstein!” which went down well.
After this, I called out Kier Starmer and the Labour government as war criminals for their support for Israel’s assault on Gaza. At this point, the SWP organisers removed the megaphone from me.
I was aware that the SWP “doesn’t demand that everyone sign up to anti-Zionism” to join SUTR – but I didn’t realise that attacking Israel would be a problem in itself!
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It was clear that SUTR was interested only in the immediate question of the far right, rather than connecting it to the other burning questions confronting workers and youth: imperialist war, Israel’s genocide, the Epstein class, austerity and cuts, and the general crisis of capitalism.
Had there been a group of five or ten serious communists present – politically prepared in advance, actively participating alongside the youth, and prepared to step forward and provide leadership where necessary – we could have acted as a decisive force that could have injected life and energy into the demonstration, and won over the radical young people present to communism.
Instead, after little more than an hour, the mood had become one of boredom and exhaustion. The moralistic sloganeering – and, when even that subsided, the SWP’s decision to play John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ through the PA system – drained what little energy remained. The final thirty minutes were deafeningly silent at times.
Boldness and clarity
Despite this, I continued discussing with the other young people present about how the rise of the far right, the Epstein files, the wars in the Middle East, and austerity in Britain are all expressions of capitalist crisis.
I stressed that, in the absence of a serious fighting force for the working class, it falls to us to build one ourselves.
On the back of these discussions, I sold six copies of The Communist and found three people interested in joining the RCP. They received the paper enthusiastically, and expressed interest in attending an open meeting in the coming weeks to continue the discussion.
And I am very pleased to say that one of the people that I met has just officially joined the Hull branch of the RCP! After signing up, they told me: “Could not be more excited for my future with the party.”
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Overall, the intervention was successful, especially given our limited presence in the city. In spite of our size, it was the boldness and political clarity that connected with the youth. This is what must be at the forefront of all of our work as communists.
The main lesson I drew, however, is the urgent need to build the RCP – both in this city and everywhere.
Even a small but politically prepared communist force would have been capable of transforming the character of this demonstration, and winning the best elements of the youth to the party.
Imagine what we could achieve with dozens of organised communists in every city, and thousands nationally!
