UAF North London Public Meeting - CHANGE OF DATE

Dear All,

Due to a number of events happening in north London on the Monday 18th of October, the UAF North London Public Meeting will now take place the following week, on Monday 25th of October at 7PM.

The Venue is unchanged.

Tottenham Chances, 399 Tottenham High Road, N17 6QN

We continue to build for the National Demonstration against Racism and Islamophobia on November 6th.

In the past week the Green Party have endorsed the event, joining the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Muslim Council of Britain. This broadening of support is of vital importance to the success of the demonstration, as is your support.

The scenes in Leicester this weekend clearly demonstrate the need for unity in the face of racism and Islamophobia. On Saturday the English Defence League descended on Leicester, attacking Police, Journalists, and Black and Asian people. The EDL have held over 30 demonstrations nationwide this year, bringing hate and violence with them. Over 800 local anti-racists joined the UAF demonstration in Leicester, with many more having to protect their community and places of worship.

We must not be complacent. The EDL and the Nazi BNP will not go away if we ignore them, we must show them that we oppose their poisonous ideas. November 6th is our chance to build momentum in the campaign against racism and fascism.

Contact UAF North London to get involved. We hope to see you at the public meeting.

uafnorthlondon@googlemail.com

UAF North London Public Meeting

NORTH LONDON PUBLIC MEETING

MONDAY 18^th October 7PM

Tottenham Chances

399 Tottenham High Road

N17 6QN

Racism, Fascism, and Islamophobia are persistent threats to the unity of our communities in North London. We have beaten back the Nazi BNP in Barking, and continue to oppose the Racist English Defence League nationally. However, the economic crisis is seeing scapegoating on the increase. Immigration controls, deportations and further attacks on the rights of asylum seekers is being encouraged by the media and politicians alike. It is of vital importance that we continue to show our unity and oppose intolerance at every turn.

On Saturday 6^th November Unite Against Fascism and Love Music Hate Racism, supported by the Muslim Council of Britain and the TUC, will coordinate a national march and carnival against racism, fascism and Islamophobia in Central London.

http://uaf.org.uk/2010/09/add-your-support-for-6-nov-antiracist-demo/

North London UAF will hold a Public Meeting on Monday 18^th of October at Tottenham Chances to bring together all those who would oppose these evils in society. We must defend our multicultural community, our individual freedom to worship, and not be divided by hate and intolerance.

All are invited to attend. Also, we require volunteers to leaflet and staff UAF stalls, please contact uafnorthlondon@googlemail.com for more information.

Why it is right to peacefully oppose the EDL in Bradford on 28th August

It is important that we oppose the EDL and stop them intimidating and terrorising communities. Please make sure you have booked your coach ticket to Bradford so that we can stop the EDL - email northlondon@uaf.org.uk for details.
http://uaf.org.uk/2010/08/why-it-is-right-to-peacefully-oppose-the-edl-in-bradford/

Keep Barking and Dagenham Nazi free!

Barking and Dagenham Unite Against Fascism is organising a day of action on Saturday 26 June, to make sure we keep the Nazi British National Party out of the borough when voters go to the polls for a by-election.

A by-election will be taking place for a council seat in Barking and Dagenham’s Goresbrook ward on Thursday 8 July.

A massive campaign by antifascists drove the BNP off the council in May – they lost all 12 of their seats and their leader, Nick Griffin, was humiliated in his attempt to take the Barking parliamentary seat, coming in third with a reduced share of the vote.

Now we need to make sure we keep the borough Nazi-fre and don’t let the BNP sneak back in at the by-election.

Day of action details
Meet 11am, Saturday 26 June at Jazzie Jake Caribbean Grill, 8-10 North St, Barking IG11 (nearest tube and railway station: Barking)

We are calling on everyone who helped in the recent election campaign to get involved. For more information email barkingdagenham@uaf.org.uk or call 07969 630 056.

Please come along and bring friends and colleagues!

By-election: keep the Nazi BNP out of Barking

East London's Barking and Dagenham council has announced a by-election in the Goresbrook ward. It is expected to take place in early July.

Due to a technical error, Louise Couling – one of the Labour councillors elected last month when the BNP were booted out of the borough – has been forced to resign.

The recent success against the Nazi BNP in the local and national elections in Barking and Dagenham has proved the power of the anti-fascist majority.

But as they have done in the past, the Nazi BNP will try to use the by-election to regain a foothold in the area. We cannot let them sneak back in through the back door.

Unite Against Fascism is organising a series of events – including leafleting, canvassing and a cultural event – in the Goresbrook ward to ensure the fascist BNP is kept out of the borough.

We are calling on everyone who helped in the recent election campaign to get involved. For more information contact Barking & Dagenham UAF on barkingdagenham@uaf.org.uk

Relief as BNP pulls plug on annual Red, White and Blue festival

Full article available here: http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/crime/Relief-BNP-pulls-plug-annual-festival/article-2256609-detail/article.html

Hodge: Unite Against Fascism ‘vital’ to beating BNP’s Griffin in Barking

Barking’s MP Margaret Hodge has acknowledged the contribution of campaign group Unite Against Fascism in the resounding election defeat of Nazi BNP leader Nick Griffin and his party’s council candidates.

Hodge said: “Unite Against Fascism was part of the winning strategy in Barking which focused on those areas where the BNP were strongest. Our emphatic victory on 6 May in the local and general elections is a reflection of the support we received from Unite Against Fascism who made a vital contribution to the campaign to drive the BNP out of Barking.”

She added: “UAF put in months of work that began before the elections. They knocked on thousands of doors and distributed many more leaflets. This helped to mobilise to beat the BNP and increase voter turnout which made such a difference in reducing the BNP’s vote.”

Hodge’s comments are cited in a post-election briefing on the UAF campaign.

Longstanding antifascist campaigner Peter Hain MP also praised the UAF campaign, saying: “The BNP's Achilles heel is that they live in the Nazi hinterland. Labelling them as Nazis was a central factor in defeating the BNP. It's great to see UAF organising like the Anti Nazi League.”

Sabby Dhalu, joint secretary of UAF, added: “The BNP has experienced its first defeat since electoral rise from the 2001 general election. It has lost 27 councillors - including 12 in Barking and Dagenham , held only 2 council seats and gained none.

“A big factor in the BNP's defeat was the rise in voter turnout because the local elections coincided with the general election so the BNP's vote was squeezed. However UAF's role was crucial because the BNP suffered a setback in the its key target areas of Barking, Stoke and Dudley where the BNP's vote was reduced from 2005 and UAF prioritised campaigning in these areas.”

Drubbing at the ballot box

In his introduction to the document, UAF joint secretary Weyman Bennett said: “The best news of the election was the drubbing the Nazi BNP received at the ballot box. First came the shattering defeat of Nick Griffin in Barking and Dagenham constituency in East London. In the BNP’s number one target seat and one which they thought they could win, Griffin came third with 6,620 votes (14.6% of the vote). Labour’s Margaret Hodge won with 24,628 votes (54.3% of the vote). Then came the glorious news that the BNP had lost every single seat it held on Barking council.

“This massive set back for the BNP was repeated around the country. It lost the large majority of the 31 council seats they were defending at these elections. They retained a seat in Pendle, but they lost the other 8 seats they stood for in the area. In Stoke, where Griffin bragged the BNP would take control of the council the BNP lost every seat including their three councillors up for re-election. They now have just four councillors on Stoke council. In Burnley the BNP lost all ten seats they were standing in, including the one seat up for re-election. Again in Barnsley they failed to win any seats, and in Sandwell the BNP lost two sitting councillors.

“Over the last two months hundreds of Unite Against Fascism activists campaigned, leafleted and canvassed in Barking. Across the country millions UAF leaflets were distributed, in Barnsley over 8,000 people attended the Love Music Hate Racism carnival and our anti BNP advan toured the country.”

Warning note

But Bennett also sounded a warning note, saying: “We must not be complacent. The BNP still got a worrying 563,743 votes across the country — and the combined vote of the BNP and UKIP was 1.6 million. The BNP are not going to disappear. The election setback for the BNP has seen tensions rise inside the organisation: there are a number of key members of the BNP calling for the head of Nick Griffin. There is also a strong possibility that sections of the BNP will be further drawn towards the racist street thugs of the English Defence League.”