October the Fourth, 1936

Mural on a wall on Cable Street in East London commemorating the demonstration

On 4th October 1936 a coalition of trade unionists, left-wing groups and Jews prevented the British Union of Fascists from marching down a street in the East End of London. This event will be known forever as the Battle of Cable Street.

The British National Party has 53 councillors in various local authorities across the country.

The BNP is a far right party which has neo-Nazi sympathisers. Their main policies are the voluntary repatriation of ethnic minorities and the repeal of any laws aimed at dealing with racial discrimination. Fascism is a middle-class ideology which is based on a fundamental belief in private property, social inequality, deference and snobbery. It is the antithesis of Enlightenment values.

Racism and discrimination are not a necessary component of fascism. Mussolini's fascist government was nationalist but not racist in the same way as Hitler's National Socialists. Mussolini did not embrace anti-Semitism until the mid 1930s. However, Mussolini attempted to crush the left by imprisoning or murdering his political opponents.

This website is anti-fascist. I aim to discuss the progress of the BNP in my country and what the political Left can do to stop its rise. I am not aligned to any anti-fascist group and I reserve the right to criticise the policies and tactics of the established anti-fascist organisations. I have two main reasons for opposing fascism:

1. I am working class and I am a Socialist. Fascism represents everything I despise about the current political and economic system. I believe in social equality and the redistribution of national wealth.

2. I am gay. Gay men were victimised and persecuted in Hitler's Germany, Franco's Spain and Mussolini's Italy. The BNP may well have 'softened' their policies on gay rights, but they would make life very difficult for men who happen to feel sexually attracted to other men. If they want to send me to the gas chambers, they will have to catch me first!