Fascists not welcome in Leeds

by New Worker correspondent

Italian commnists on the march

 Italian comrades joined hundreds of other anti-fascists last weekend to show the far-right that they were not welcome in Leeds. Members of the Communist Party of Italy’s Pietro Secchia (UK) branch joined the lunch-time march, called by the Leeds Anti-Fascist Network (Leeds AFN), against Yorkshire racists posing as British ‘Yellow Vests’ who had called for an anti-immigration protest in the city.

On the day the anti-fascists marched through the streets unchallenged because the handful of degenerates who actually turned up for their own demonstration skulked away when they saw the massed ranks against them.

Leeds AFN said: “We brought with us no trouble but a clear message: We will not tolerate the hatred spewed by the far-right in our city. The effect it has on communities across the world is clear for all to see. Recent events such as the Christchurch attacks and pogroms against the Roma in Ukraine and Italy prove the immediate danger these views pose to communities seen as ‘other’ by the far-right. In March of this year here in Leeds, we saw a man affiliated with the far-right charged with six terrorism offences related to planning attacks. Toxic far-right views are a genuine threat which we will continue to stand against wherever we encounter them.”

The Leeds AFN is an independent group of activists from across the left campaigning for militant, working-class anti-fascism and anti-racism.

With a recent resurgence of the far-right and a feeling that the tactics of Unite Against Fascism (UAF) aren’t effective, activists in Leeds set up the local campaign to confront the fascists and racists head-on in the city. The members come from groups from different parts of the left as well as non-aligned individuals, and all are committed to remaining independent of any political party or organisation. Leeds AFN believes that the way to counter fascism isn’t through liberalism but through grass-roots organising and resistance amongst the working class.