Tackling racism and the far-right – a trade union response (Manchester)

Across the country, we are seeing racists and fascists look to divide our communities. In the North West, we’ve seen anti-migrant and refugee sentiment on the rise, protests at hotels and far-right candidates standing in local elections.

Increasingly, far-right groups and individuals are using conspiracy theories as a recruiting ground. No longer is it just about migrants and race, but about LGBT+ and more.

The response from government has just been more rhetoric, fuelling divisions and seeking to pit people in communities against each other.

Our movement is founded on one of solidarity and justice. We’ve seen our unions call out and take on the government’s Rwanda plans, propose better solutions to theirs and where appropriate, protest against those who seek to divide us.

This full day event will bring together representatives from unions, community groups, anti-racism and anti fascism organisations to share updates, spread best practice on tackling these organisations and individuals and help narrow our focus on how we defeat the poisonous narrative in the run up to the next election and beyond.

We’ll be discussing:

• What we are doing to be an anti-racist movement
• Institutional racism and Windrush
• Working in communities to combat those targeting hotels
• Safe passage for refugees
• How we tackle the rhetoric and narrative in politics and beyond

Speakers include:

• Kim Johnson MP
• Riz Hussain, TUC
• Weyman Bennett, Stand up to Racism
• Hannah Marwood, Care 4 Calais
• More to be confirmed