We can beat the racists!

Thousands of people have taken to the streets to counter the racist mobs who terrorised asylum seekers, members of the Muslim community, and other ethnic minorities in a wave of violence that swept through a number of towns in the north of England last week.

The bourgeois media that routinely scapegoats immigrants, asylum-seekers and ethnic minorities goes into top gear whenever there’s a Labour government while some politicians will always court the extremists  when there’s a leadership contest in the offing. And summer always brings out the football thugs who’ve nothing to do when their team’s not playing.

 But though egged on by the likes of Nigel Farage and the man who calls himself “Tommy Robinson” the riots were clearly organised by a hidden hand that spread the lies on social media about the murder of three young girls in Southport that sparked off the violence. 

The fact that racist attacks continued even after it was confirmed that the Southport murderer was neither a Muslim or an asylum-seeker shows that covert forces were at work – though whether they are far-right extremists, maverick intelligence officers or cynical politicians seeking to exploit the genuine grievances of white workers remains to be seen.   

The direct hand of the state can be ruled out on this occasion. The bourgeoisie don’t like random violence. Torching cars, looting shops and burning libraries is not in their play-book. They know it can easily spread to the homes of the well-to-do if not immediately curbed. So the Tory media has closed ranks with the Starmer government in support of the police and the judiciary. Hundreds of rioters have been arrested. Trials are being fast-tracked and three men have already been jailed for violent disorder.

The New Communist Party recognises the need for any sovereign state to set an immigration policy in accordance with its resources. But we firmly oppose any immigration policy that discriminates, either directly or indirectly, on the basis of race, creed, colour or gender.

We call for the repeal of the Immigration and Asylum Acts of the 1990s, passed by both Tory and Labour governments, which make it very difficult for many genuine asylum seekers to establish their claims.

Asylum seekers must be treated humanely and their claims dealt with swiftly. While this process takes place they must be given decent accommodation and welfare benefits to survive. No asylum seekers should be locked up unless there is good reason, with evidence, to believe they are criminals and no child asylum seeker should ever be locked up.

Scapegoating minorities is an old trick the ruling class use to divert working people away from their real problems. In the old days it was the Jews – now its the immigrants and the refugees. The real problem is capitalism itself – a system that enables a handful of parasites to live the lives of Roman emperors on the backs of the millions upon millions of working people.

Long-standing anti-fascist movements like Stand Up to Racism mobilised tens of thousands of people this week to defend their communities from racist attacks. That’s all right as far as it goes. But we have to build an even bigger movement to tackle the underlying causes of violence and drive the racists off our streets.