Groucho Marxism

Earlier this month the city of Belfast was rocked by racist violence. On 9 June, riots broke out across the city following a stabbing allegedly committed by a Sudanese man the previous evening. For the following two days gangs of youths roamed the streets of Belfast, spreading terror among migrant communities. Homes, businesses, and vehicles were set alight in scenes grimly reminiscent of the widespread sectarian violence of the past. There followed a courageous push-back by community groups with an anti-racist rally held on 12 June. The following day, thousands gathered outside Belfast City Hall to condemn the violence and targeting of ethnic minorities, in scenes that brought to mind historical protests against sectarian violence.

Many are questioning the role of the police, particularly as a monitoring groups had been warning them for several months that far-right networks were circulating lists and addresses of immigrants. This highlights that immigrants cannot rely on the state to protect them from racist attacks. On the contrary, the state is largely responsible for these attacks. Successive governments have created the conditions for the emergence of the far right through starving working class communities of funding and essential services. The media and politicians have deliberately whipped up anti-immigration rhetoric to place the blame for the ills of society on a small minority. Clearly, the boast that the Good Friday Agreement would bring peace, stability, and prosperity to Northern Ireland has been exposed as a fraud.

The events in Belfast are not isolated but part of a broader trend. Within the past month far-right marches have occurred in Brighton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sheffield, and Southampton, with similar marches planned elsewhere. What’s notable is that those protesting never seem that bothered when a white person carries out a similar attack. It’s almost as if they are just using it as an excuse! However in both Brighton and Sheffield, the protestors were vastly outnumbered by anti-racist counter-protestors. In Brighton, an estimated 300 far-right protestors were met with at least 4,000 people as part of an organized counter-protest; and in Sheffield, an estimated 100 protestors were outnumbered by around 600 anti-racists

These events are taking  place against a backdrop of political turmoil. Last week, Keir Starmer finally faced the inevitable and announced he would be stepping down as Prime Minister. It is of course hugely gratifying to see this vain, duplicitous man finally get his comeuppance. Watching him cry when giving his resignation speech felt like watching a toddler cry when their favourite toy is taken away. But to anyone who thinks replacing Starmer with Burnham will revive Labour’s fortunes: I have a bridge to sell you. Just like Starmer, Burnham is a man with zero political convictions who clearly has no idea how to solve the problems this country is facing. He has already chosen a pro-Israel corporate lobbyist as his chief of staff. In short, Burnham is Starmer with a northern accent.

Despite being ushered in with a ‘landslide’ victory at the last general election, Starmer’s tenure as Prime Minister ultimately lasted less than two years. If there is a positive to take from his disastrous reign it’s that the British electorate was able to see through him quite quickly. People are not stupid. It’s just a shame that they didn’t see through him when those of us on the left did six years ago. Although we shouldn’t be too smug as after all it was the left that was largely responsible for electing him as leader of the Labour party. My prediction is that Labour will see a small bump in popularity after the new leader takes over, shortly followed by an even steeper decline in popularity once people realize the new leader was no better than the old one.

All of this shows that we cannot rely on our politicians to combat racism, so we have to do it ourselves. The recent counter-protests in Brighton and Sheffield demonstrate that the vast majority of people in this country are not racist or anti-immigrant and should give us hope that the far right can be defeated. The way to do that is to unite the working class around common demands such as affordable social housing for all, a living wage, and better opportunities for young people. It may difficult to eliminate racism completely; it may even be impossible. There will always be a handful of idiots in any society. But we can and should fight for a world where people are not forced to live in fear. Such a world is surely possible.