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Standing up to the far-right – how TUC support can help

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The TUC has launched a new resource to help workplace and community reps combat the far-right
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The threat from the far-right is very real – and it’s growing. 

We have seen it here in the UK and across the world.

In our communities, in our elections and in everyday conversation, far-right mouthpieces are doing their best to spread their hateful message.

Tackling the far-right seems like too difficult a task for one person.

Where do you start? Can you alone make a difference? What can you actually do?

Many of the answers lay in the heart of the trade union movement itself. 

Unions have stronger weapons than the far-right. We have solidarity. People trust us. 

But most importantly we have unions reps and activists like you. Together, we can keep our workplaces and our communities hate free. 

A new TUC Education e-note has been launched to help you do just that.

This short online course introduces the big issues and challenges. It identifies who the far-right are, how they get their messages out and how we can stop them. 

Let’s not pretend this is easy – it might mean having difficult conversations with colleagues or having to campaign. 

But the eNote contains some very practical tips and support to help make it easier to raise these issues. And it has information about other campaign groups and organisations who can help. 

Take for example the idea of talking to someone in work who’s been speaking about immigrants.

It’s a conversation we’ve probably all heard before. But how we speak about it isn’t so straight-forward.

The instinct might be to tell someone they’re wrong. It might be to not have the conversation. Or it might be to tell them all the facts about how immigration is a benefit to the country (and they are facts).

But these might not always work. Without telling you the answer, the eNote will help with practice conversations and scenarios and how different answers can get different results. 

You can access the e-note here

Once you’ve completed it, please consider what you can do next to help tackle the far-right. This might include:

  • Encouraging fellow reps, or colleagues to take part
  • Sharing the e-note with fellow progressive networks
  • Support the TUC statement about not allowing hate to be part of our EU elections
  • If you aren’t already, become a union member. If you are, consider becoming a rep. 

The far-right love to exploit issues to divide our communities. As trade unionists, we cannot allow them a free pass on this. 

Our history has shown us that when we stand together, we can defeat this hate.

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