Tackling the far right – a trade union issue

The damage wrought by the Conservatives is being felt by millions of working people up down and up and down the country – with many families struggling to pay their bills and to access even basic services. 

These very real frustrations are being exploited by the far right to fuel their politics of hate and division. 

We’ve all seen the appalling scenes in Southport, Hartlepool and London over the last few days. 

And there has been a clear ratcheting up of hostility against Muslims, trans people, migrant workers and others. The far-right is desperate to scapegoat them for the Tories’ failures – rather than to address the real reasons why so many people are struggling to get by. 

We must not let them get away with their lies and division. 

Trade unions have always been at the heart of the anti-far right movement. 

But the challenge feels even more urgent now. 

Last Saturday tens of thousands of far-right supporters took to the streets of London to support Tommy Robinson and his hateful missives.

And recent EU elections saw big gains for far-right parties in Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, and France – who lurched perilously close to electing a far-right government. 

So how will unions help counter this threat? Our response is threefold. 

Firstly, we’ll be supporting our unions to build an effective response where the far right is organising in workplaces. 

We have developed a number of resources from e-learning modules on having difficult conversations and tackling the far right in your workplace, to our excellent political education programme that explores the international rise of the far right alongside the historical, political and economic changes that have led us here. 

It’s crucial that we coordinate with our international colleagues on this work. 

And we’ll also be supporting our affiliates’ diverse communities of activists. 

We know the far right target women, disabled people, LGBT communities, and Black workers. 

Before the election was called, and often during the campaign, hostile political narratives targeted the trans community, women’s bodily autonomy and asylum seekers. 

We are determined to work with our unions to build an effective response to tackle the far right.  

Secondly, we need to build a political response. 

Reform and other right-wing influencers have been clear that they see their future in the mainstream political landscape. 

We simply cannot allow for xenophobic, discriminatory views to be shared as a viable solution to the enormous challenges facing our country. 

And thirdly - we will be pushing this Labour government to deliver for working people quickly. Because we know that the best way to defeat grievance politics is to improve jobs, living standards and public services. We know that if we win in the workplace, combat hatred and deliver change we’ll tackle the far right.  

As trade unionists, the politics of hate and division are an affront to our core values of unity and collectivism. Solidarity is our strength, and we will stand firm against harmful rhetoric that aims to pit different workers and communities against each other. 

Read TUC anti far right statement