On 21 January, the University of Warwick’s Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) Society hosted George Finch – Reform UK’s 19-year-old leader of Warwickshire County Council – for a ‘Question Time’-style event about democracy.
Unsurprisingly, the talk attracted opposition. Several left-wing groups at the University called for a boycott, and organised a protest outside of the event.
This opposition was quite disorganised and politically confused, but the Warwick RCP branch mobilised in support of it anyway – with our own slogans and statement – to try and connect with the mood.
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On the day, around 30 protestors turned up outside the event, shouting slogans and picketing the venue. We received mixed reactions from protestors when we mentioned we were communists organised with the RCP.
However, when a comrade delivered a speech attacking Reform for defending capitalism and carrying out cuts locally, he received a very positive reception. At one point, the crowd chanted “Bullshit, come off it: the enemy is profit!”, showing the class anger amongst the students assembled.
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The main opposition to Finch, however, happened inside the auditorium itself.
The councillor was hounded by questions intended to trip him up. Each time Finch spoke, at most a handful of (mostly Conservative) students clapped. But when a student challenged his reactionary rhetoric, the lecture hall erupted into applause. This reveals the prevailing mood of students and young people towards Farage’s reactionary outfit.
Indeed, one student even attempted to rush the stage and throw a shoe at Finch, before being tackled to the ground!
Despite all this, the protestors outside – having decided that ignoring their boycott equalled supporting Finch – yelled “fascist scum” at student attendees as they left the event. These divisive and counter-productive methods completely isolated the protestors from people who likely agreed with their opposition to Reform.
Interestingly, we found that the more coherent opposition was inside the lecture hall. You wouldn’t expect a PPE Society event to be very radical. But, by challenging Finch and publicly exposing his rhetoric, these students did more than those yelling ‘fascist’ outside.
We will carry the lessons we learned into any future mobilisations on campus. There is clearly widespread opposition to Reform – and the other reactionary and establishment parties – amongst young people. But that anger needs a clear outlook and correct methods to be mobilised effectively.
