Solidarity key to stopping racism in its tracks

THE British establishment is pushing the dangerous narrative that ‘mass immigration’ is the problem behind working class people’s hardship in Scotland and across Britain. From Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ‘island of strangers’ speech, to Reform UK leader and arch-racist Nigel Farage, the false claim is being repeated that migrants and refugees cause the long waiting times in the NHS, the lack of social housing and the overall rise in poverty and austerity that plagues the lives of millions of ordinary people. This toxic and racist narrative is fuelling the rise of racism and the growth of the far right party Reform UK at the ballot box, and encouraging fascists, like the neo-Nazi ‘Tommy Robinson,’ to mobilise onto our streets.

This blaming and scapegoating is nothing new to the Irish. It is a divide and rule tactic that was pioneered by the British Empire in Ireland, India and other British colonies.

This is the language that our ancestors have faced for more than 200 years—and it hasn’t even changed that much over time. “They’re lazy,” “they’re here to steal your job,” “they want to out-breed us,” “they are a threat to the safety of our women and children” and the classic “why is it only young men? Why have they abandoned their families?” These are all familiar phrases that were used to demonise our ancestors, and which shouldn’t have any traction with Irish descendents today. The story has stayed the same, but the main characters are different. Caricatures of the ‘drunk Irish immigrant’ in old tabloids are now replaced with ‘suspicious looking man seen walking past a local park’ on social media posts. The ‘No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish’ or ‘Catholics Need Not Apply’ job signs in windows have morphed into a legal ban on anyone with refugee or asylum seeker status from working to earn a wage and the complete denial of any legal routes of entry into the UK for people fleeing famine, war and persecution—often caused by the British Government and its allies.

Flashpoints

The fascist riots and Islamophobic flashpoints that took place in the summer last year show where this dangerous rhetoric can lead. Far right groups mobilised to attack hotels housing asylum seekers, legal offices and even barber shops. This followed just days after ‘Tommy Robinson’ led a fascist march of thousands through London, and just a few weeks after Reform UK won five MP seats in the 2024 General Election. The scenes sent shivers down the spines of those old enough to remember the rise of Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists in the 1930s, or the fascist National Front marching through the streets of black neighbourhoods in the 1970s.

The migrant population of this country has a long and proud history of fighting for their rightful place to live, work, seek sanctuary and to make a positive contribution to the economic, political and cultural enrichment of society. They never carried that struggle on their own. The likes of the British Union of Fascists, the National Front, the British National Party, or the English Defence League with its pathetic imitation in the Scottish Defence League, were all challenged and eventually defeated by migrants fighting shoulder to shoulder with anti-racists, trade union members, socialists and many others, building unity in workplaces, education centres, in communities and across society.

The famous Battle of Cable Street in the 1930s against Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists is a marvellous example of how to drive fascists off our streets and how to give confidence to anti-racists to go on the offensive against racism and fascism. Fast forward to the 1970s and it was the Battle of Lewisham when the anti-racist and anti-fascist majority blocked the National Front from marching and attacking black, Asian and other immigrant communities living in London.

Action

More recently in Glasgow, the Battle of Kenmure Street four years ago saw mass action to stop a Home Office deportation van from abducting and deporting two men living in the southside of Glasgow, a place that has been the home to immigrants’ families for centuries, back to the days when the amount of Irish immigrant families living there earned Govanhill and the Gorbals the nickname of ‘Little Donegal.’ On that day, the power of the anti-racist movement was able to successfully push back against the racism of the British State.

And only last year in September, we saw thousands of people occupy George Square—and other squares across Scotland—to stop the far-right forces that wanted to bring the violence of the riots to our communities. The shameful kettling of the Green Brigade, who were on their way to join the anti-fascist counter-demonstration in Glasgow, by the police, while the far-right protests, including Nazi-saluting fascists, were protected, underlines that we cannot rely on forces such as the police, courts and governments to protect our communities.

While solidarity is always the most powerful tool we have to combat racism and the far right, it also needs to be organised. Reform UK is currently leading in the polls for the next Westminster election and they are expected to perform well at next year’s Scottish Parliament election, having come third in the Hamilton by-election with 26.1 per cent of the vote. Anti-racist unity that challenges the racist myths about refugees and migrants,

provides counter-arguments and unites ordinary people to fight for real change are essential and urgent to stop Reform getting a stronger foothold in Scotland.

Organising

On May 31, Stand Up to Racism Scotland held a ‘Stop Reform 2026—organising against racism and fascism’ summit in Glasgow (left) to launch a campaign to do precisely that. From trade unions through cultural figures to community campaigners, we pledged to oppose the far right in our communities and workplaces, discussed the role workers can play, refugee and migrant rights, and a lot more.

Following the summit, anti-racists disrupted Nigel Farage’s attempts to rehabilitate himself in Aberdeen and Hamilton, showing that he is not welcome here. This supposed ‘man of the people’ arrived in the west coast in a private jet and had to sneak in and out of the Reform offices through a back door alleyway past the bins and rubbish.

This is just the beginning. We want to keep building the movement to expose the racism at the heart of their project and stop them from poisoning communities across Scotland—and we will also challenge any other party that echoes these arguments. Refugees and migrants are not ‘strangers,’ they are our brothers and sisters in the fight for a better world, they make our NHS and other public services. They didn’t cut winter fuel allowance for pensioners or disability benefits, and they didn’t privatise public services or freeze pay for the majority of us.

It’s time to make fear change sides. The next step in our campaign was a national demonstration and music carnival in Glasgow on June 21. We marked World Refugee Day in partnership with refugee rights organisations, trade unions and campaigns from across Scotland. We saw thousands of people on the streets to say that refugees are welcome here, that we oppose the far-right and that together we demand real change.

We extend an invitation to all the readers and supporters of The Irish Voice and to the wider Irish community to continue to support us in celebrating the diversity and cultural contributions of the many different migrant communities that make up and enrich Scotland, including the contribution that our own community has made and continues to make against those who wish to demonise us. In remembrance of those who came before us, let’s stand in solidarity with all those who are under attack now.

James Granleese is a proud Irish anti-racist in Glasgow and a member of the Stand Up to Racism Steering Committee

If you want to read more about Stand Up to Racism Scotland and its activities, go to: https://linktr.ee/sutrscot