Report from last week’s Unite Against Fascism/LMHR East Midlands conference/rally

Around 120 people attended the hugely successful and lively ‘Stop the BNP’ rally on Saturday 1st November in the East Midlands.

A huge range of subjects were touched on by the speakers Bob Laxton MP, Lee Baron CWU Regional Secretary, Weyman Bennett joint Secretary Unite Against Fascism, Baby J LMHR, Kirit Mistry Derby REC plus others. and contributors from the floor.The mixture of urgency, warnings, personal stories and practical discussion included several accounts of successful removal of BNP councillors. This has been achieved through localised campaigning over key issues such as city academies, threatened redundancies etc., which the BNP has nothing to say about. This allows campaigners to demonstrate how little the fascists truly offer to people. It also brings people together through campaigning, which undermines the prejudice which the BNP feeds off.

One of the main practical issues that emerged from the discussion is the need for a large, East Midlands-based, Love Music Hate Racism festival or gig. Lee Baron from the CWU announced to the audience that the CWU East Mids region would be helping to sponsor this event. Smaller events will also be taking place across the region such as the gigs at Derby, Leicester and Nottingham universities, which LMHR campaigners agreed prior to the rally with the student unions.

Also discussed were planned days of action, including mass leafletting and voter registration.

In addition about half the 40/50 delegates to the Midlands TUC Regional Council held immediately prior to this rally attended including a number of Regional secretaries & other senior officials from across a range of unions including GMB, POA, UNISON CWU, PCS, NUT, UCU, NASUWT, UNITE, and the Midlands TUC Regional Secretay & other TUC officials from the Midlands and delegates from Midlands Trades Councils.