THE instigators of race riots that began in smaller towns are now trying to bring them to bigger cities.
Rumours swirl as to where the fascists may attack next. Many families are fearful.
The stakes for racist thugs trying to start trouble in areas with large black or Muslim communities are higher than when they surround a hotel being used to accommodate refugee families and try to set it alight: but this doesn’t mean the provocation won’t be attempted.
A race war on the streets is, after all, what the fascists thrive on, and pitched battles in which communities are driven to defend themselves by force could easily, given what we know about the racism of major newspaper titles and which exists within the police, shift the narrative over the riots to one more favourable to the Nigel Farages and Lee Andersons.
The reason the fascists are confident enough to be continuing their violence and trying to spread it to new areas is because they have not yet been faced down strongly enough.
It is clear the majority do not support these violent racists. The huge community clean-ups that followed riots in Southport, Hartlepool or Middlesbrough show that they do not. But they have a sense that they are numerous and that people are frightened of them.
They must be shown how much more numerous are the anti-racists, the people determined to unite their communities in defiance of their message of hate.
The counter-demonstrations are vital. So too is the day of action called on Saturday by Stand Up to Racism in towns and cities across Britain. We need to send out a proactive message of solidarity.
Within the labour movement we need to be proactive too. In areas far-right activity is suspected to be planned, police often advise shops and businesses to close early.
But it remains up to management, while in essential services, employing hundreds of thousands of black workers and in the NHS much migrant labour, it may not be possible to shut up shop. All across the country, we need workplace meetings to assess any heightened risk to workers and bosses need to be made to meet unions to ensure everything is being done to protect their staff in the event of a race riot.
So far the highest-profile attacks have been on buildings (with people inside) and in the context of major incidents, but isolated racist attacks are occurring too. These are not new, but likely to become more frequent given the high profile of the fascist right currently.
The Unite union has long run the Get Me Home Safely campaign, highlighting the risks faced particularly by women and black workers who lack a safe route home when their shift finishes, who might have to wait alone at a bus stop at night or walk for miles after the last public transport has left.
This too becomes higher priority given far-right violence, and may be a problem even during the daytime. Again, this is an issue management needs to engage with unions on, with provision made to help workers get home, for example by booking taxis for them, where necessary.
Workplace meetings are also a space in which the class solidarity that can overcome divisions of race or faith can be felt and working-class unity, which is the strongest defence against fascism, can be built.
That class-conscious spirit can be taken into the community as union branches and trades councils contact local places of worship, community groups and political parties to bring everyone together against attempts to bring hatred and violence to our streets.
What the labour movement does now is as important as what the British state does. No-one threatened with far-right terror should fear they will face it alone.
