The election of two members of the fascist British National Party to the European Parliament marks a turning point in British politics. Their election threatens to normalise the presence of the BNP in politics. The fascists will use their foothold to push their bigotry in the media and whip up race hatred on our streets. Millions of ordinary people do not want to see racism used to divide our society. These people are totally opposed to the politics of the BNP and they have to be drawn into the active anti fascist movement in ever larger numbers.
We need to strengthen anti racism campaign roots across the country, in particular in Yorkshire & Humberside and the North West, with the view to building a huge campaign base in advance of the local elections next year.
It is for these reasons that Unite Against Fascism and Love Music Hate Racism have called a joint emergency conference in Manchester on Saturday 18th July. There will be speakers, discussion and ideas for action and a number of workshops including – “Countering Racist Myths”, “Celebrating Unity Against the Racists – Building LMHR”, and “The Media and the Role of Anti-fascists”. We urge all our supporters and everyone angry and concerned at the Nazis’ electoral gains to attend.
A Tribute to Steven Wells, Music Journalist, punk poet and political activist.
By Paul Sillett.
Anyone who the great Chuck D liked has to be a good thing. So it was/is with Steven Wells, Swells to many….
Very sad news this week as we heard that writer Steven Wells has died from cancer at the age of 49. Steven was a passionate and witty supporter of the Anti Nazi League and later LMHR and UAF, with a uniquely political and acerbic take on music (and football and much else besides) writing. Latterly as his illness set in, “Swells” wrote honestly and inspiringly above being ill, above all refusing to feel sorry for himself. Swells will be greatly missed – we need journalists like him now mnore than ever. Our thoughts go out to Steven’s family, friends, and loved ones. A full tribute to Steven’s life and work is now up in the Magazine section of the site.
Gareth from top indie-rockers Los Campesinos has written a very honest piece on the group’s blog about how he felt after the Nazi BNP winkled their way into the European Parliament.
MOBO has always been a strong believer in the power of positive energy that comes from music. The MOBO Awards were born out of a desire to ensure that talented individuals had a platform upon which to perform and that they weren’t marginalized or pushed into a ‘niche’ pigeon hole. Where words often fail, music speaks and the work of LMHR towards breaking down barriers in music echoes the messages of MOBO in the strive for equality in the music industry, and beyond.
