After our experience a few weeks ago at a counter-demo against Tommy Robinson supporters in Leeds, we decided that we needed to put on a Yorkshire anti-fascist school.
The far right were assembling, whilst the ‘official’ left’s response was a shambles. They were completely incapable of leading the movement to fight racism in Yorkshire, and in fact were actively harming it by demoralising the crowd and emboldening the fascists.
In contrast, we were the biggest force there. We were the only ones who had properly built for it, and the only ones with political slogans that actually split the far right.
From this counter-demo it became clear that in Leeds we are no longer building in preparation for the day when we can challenge this old leadership. That day has come – we are capable of challenging them now, and we have to.
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We can only trust ourselves
Our Yorkshire anti-fascism school had to be serious in all aspects – political and organisational.
We meticulously built for it, plastering Leeds, Sheffield, and Bradford with posters, ringing up every sympathiser we’d ever met, alongside making high-quality social media videos.
We had a full security team on the door, with tickets, wristbands, and programmes. There was a packed book stall and lunch provided for all!
The school was introduced by RCP spokesperson Fiona Lali on the topic of ‘How to fight the far right’, in which she addressed the immediate questions facing the movement.
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She pointed out that the capitalist system is what causes racism, and its defenders are to blame for the rise of the far right. Therefore the fight against racism is a fight against capitalism:
“One of the greatest tricks from the ruling class is that when we picture a racist, we picture a working-class man rather than a member of the aristocracy, the ones who produce racism in the first place.”
This was not a dry academic discussion, but an attempt to answer the burning practical questions for the movement.
Georgie from Bradford spoke on how to break a police line, using the example of the anti-ICE struggle in Minneapolis, to draw out the need for the working class to organise in numbers.
Central Committee member Maya Khan, meanwhile, explained why the slogan “refugees are welcome” doesn’t work, and why we need to put forward a class-based political programme to fight racism and the right wing.
Electric atmosphere
When we broke for lunch all attendees, new and old alike, were buzzing and enthusiastically discussing communist ideas.
The second talk by Central Committee member Nick Whittaker on the Spanish Civil War aimed to give a theoretical analysis of fascism, why it arose in the past, and the lessons for fighting the far right today.
The fascist dictator Franco came to power off the back of the discredited policy of ‘popular frontism’ – which is similar to the lesser-evilism put forward by the reformists and ‘lefts’ today.
Although this was a more theoretical talk, the discussion was relevant and accessible. Contributions answered questions about the movement today, using examples from the Spanish Civil War to back up these points concretely.
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One person told me “I was expecting to see academic men who like the sound of their own voice, but it’s not that at all.”
But that did not mean people were not interested in revolutionary theory. In fact, those in attendance were very interested – because we made £320 on the Wellred Books stall!
Revolutionary young people are not attracted to abstract rambling, but class politics that get to the heart of things and point the way forward. And we are the only ones who can provide this!
Our tasks
The old left leadership is down a blind alley, and has been completely discredited. However, as Trotsky said, “no devil ever yet voluntarily cut off his own claws.” They will not mildly concede, and we can’t wait for them to do so. We are neck-and-neck, and we need to break ahead now!
Unlike the rest of the pessimistic left, the Yorkshire region of the RCP is imbued with the spirit of revolutionary optimism. Every attendee was struck by our serious approach to theory and organising, but also by our optimism.
This optimism isn’t blind faith, but the optimism that comes with a clear understanding of what needs to be done in order to organise the youth, who know that they can change the world.
That is what the movement is desperate for: a political programme and a serious organisation that gives people something to fight for, And this is what no one else is offering.
So we need to step into that vacuum, build the RCP, and prove our ideas in practice by leading this anti-racism struggle in Yorkshire.
The watchword of the day was:
- Fight the right with revolutionary communism!
- Shake off your routinism, comrades!
- Events are accelerating, and we must keep pace!
- Seize the moment! Onwards to a party of thousands!
Scottish Conference ‘26 – The tasks of communists
Orla Thomas, RCP Central Committee
4 July saw the RCP in Scotland meet in Edinburgh for our third annual Scottish Conference. With close to 50 attendees, including visitors from Revolutionary Communists of Ireland, this was our most successful conference yet.
I began by introducing the session on Scottish perspectives and the tasks for communists in Scotland.
The SNP are facing their biggest challenge to date. Having based their popularity in the previous period on reforms and independence, the party has now never been so discredited.
The economic realities of Scotland today are acting as a roadblock for reforms, while the independence movement is at a dead end. The SNP itself is increasingly engrained into the establishment and mired in scandals.
The struggles in Scottish infrastructure was highlighted as an example of the SNP’s inability to govern: from the inefficiency of the energy grid for making use of Scotland’s rich renewable resources, to the potential pressures of AI data centres.
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Out of anti-establishment options
However, when looking beyond the SNP towards fresh anti-establishment options, Scottish workers will be left wanting. Unlike south of the border, in Scotland the Greens have been in government with the SNP which has tainted them to many.
This leaves the choice for pro-Indy workers to back the SNP or stay at home.
The pro-Union parties, meanwhile, have been shaken up by the rise of Reform in Scotland. As was highlighted in the Conference’s discussion, this is a new development in Scotland – and has seen an emboldening of the scourge of far right and Loyalist elements.
Whilst these groups remain fringe in numbers, the presence of Reform and incompetence of the SNP provide them a much larger platform from which to spit sectarian and racist bile, as demonstrated by the recent riots in Glasgow and Islamophobic attacks in Edinburgh.
However, where these elements rear their head, a huge response from radicalised workers and youth has also been seen. Mobilisations reaching 5,000 in Leith and 7,000 in Glasgow are packed full of young people looking for a serious fight against the right.
Looking backwards and forwards
It is this backdrop upon which we are building the RCP in Scotland. Central Committee member Sara Al Disi explained that we have to link these unprecedented events into our activity as communists.
We must not be caught lagging behind the radical mood building amongst Scottish workers and youth – we must seize the opportunities in front of us to connect with them. This is our focus for the upcoming academic term.
In pursuing this task, we have a wealth of experience to draw from. Our final talk of the day was given by Rob Sewell, political secretary of the RCP, who traced the history of our movement right back to Trotsky’s struggle against Stalin.
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To the shouts of ‘here, here’ from the comrades in the room, Rob remarked that he has never been more confident in the building of the forces of communism than today.
One visitor from the North East of England described the Scottish Conference as “the most inspiring thing politically I’ve ever witnessed”.
Another new comrade from Edinburgh was asked if his views on anything had changed since he joined a couple months ago, and – having just sat through the session on our history – he replied “Just months? More like hours!”
We are not shy in our aim: we want to build a party capable of leading the overthrow of capitalism in Scotland. In the words of Edinburgh-born James Connolly, “Our demands most moderate are, we only want the Earth.”
