GMB has a long standing relationship with the excellent charity HOPE not hate, an organisation which led the fight against the BNP and continues to do crucial work in taking on the far right.
On the back of their new report ‘Fear, Hope and Loss’ I took part in a panel debate about Brexit, the far right and post-industrial Britain.
It was hard to disagree with much in the report because it articulates – backed up with a lot of very detailed data – some for the arguments we have been making as a union for a long time.
"As I’ve said, all along, the vote to leave the EU wasn’t just about Europe. It was about the frustration of while swathes of working class Britain about the status quo."
Successive governments clinging to the flexible labour market for dear life as it ran rough shod over people’s lives, the explosion of insecure work, austerity removing vital services, people priced out of education, a lack of investment in a new economy to replace old industries and the complete failure of an entire generation of politicians to build the houses people need to live in – all of those factors and lived experiences of working people came together in a crescendo that meant for many, the risk of bringing down the entire system was better than living with the status quo.
It was a really interesting discussion, which was opened by Lisa Nandy MP who gave an introduction including the work she has been doing around towns specifically.
All of the factors I have mentioned help pave the way for the far right. If Brexit means even more insecurity, more austerity and cuts to services there will be greater potential than ever for the far right to exploit the plight of communities. We must make sure that we organise politically and industrially to make sure that doesn’t happen.
