Union Policy UP1238 

Fight racism and fascism 

 



 

Proposer: 

Edwin Clifford-Coupe 

Seconder: 

Sahal Quazi, Dante Micheaux, Hannah Webb 

Passed: 

Union Council, 28 May 2013 

Lapses: 

27 May 2015 



 

This Union Notes: 

 

1. The murder of a British Army soldier in Woolwich, London on 22 May 2013. 
2. The subsequent violent mobilisation of the English Defence League and other racists and 
fascists, including attacks on Muslims and mosques.1 BNP leader Nick Griffin has called 
for a racist demonstration in Woolwich on 1 June.2 
3. Existing UCLU policy3, passed at a Members Meeting, which opposes discrimination 
against international students and racist state surveillance, in particular of Muslim students, 
and affirms UCLU’s belief in open borders. 


1 www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/may/25/woolwich-murder-attacks-on-muslims; 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/ten-attacks-on-mosques-since-woolwich-murder-8633594.html 

2 WARNING, link to BNP website: http://www.bnp.org.uk/news/national/nick-griffin-lead-woolwich-march 

3 http://uclu.org/sites/uclu.org/files/u77966/up1205.pdf 

 

This Union Believes: 

 

1. Both the original killing and the racist responses are utterly disgusting and we unreservedly 
condemn them. 
2. Racists and fascists take advantage of attacks like this in order to advance their agendas. 
3. The violent mobilisation of racists on our streets, and Islamophobia and the demonization of 
Black and Ethnic Minority people, pose a serious danger to the safety and freedom of 
Muslims and BME people. 
4. Fascism poses an existential threat to the safety and freedom of BME, Jewish, Muslim, 
LGBT+ and Disabled people and Women and must be actively resisted. 
5. Permitting fascists to use the platforms and resources that UCLU controls would aid them 
and would make our campus and our union less safe for our members. 
6. Not just the far right but the mainstream media, major political parties, the state and society, 
bear responsibility for fuelling racism and fascism by homogenising and demonising 
migrants, Muslims and other groups, and for using them as scapegoats for the social 
injustice that is actually caused by capitalism and austerity. 
7. Demands that Muslims and BME people prove their “loyalty” or “Britishness”, and any 
expectation that they need to make a special show of distancing themselves from violent 
bigots, are racist. 
8. Opposition to racism and fascism must be intersectional, i.e. it must also reject and fight 
homophobia, misogyny, sexism, transphobia and ableism. 
9. We must not allow horrific events such as these to be used to justify racist and 
Islamophobic discrimination, or the extension of state powers at the expense of civil 
liberties. 



10. UCLU should not call for the state to ban fascist demonstrations. We do not believe that 
fascists should be permitted to organise and demonstrate freely, but we also do not trust 
the state with such powers and we do not believe that the state or the police are reliably 
anti-fascist or anti-racist forces. Fascism and racism in the streets must instead be met by 
mobilising opposition. 


 

This Union Resolves: 

 

1. To permit no use of UCLU spaces, platforms or resources by fascists or fascist 
organisations, including but not limited to the British National Party and English Defence 
League. 
2. To protest whenever fascists organise public events, or are given public platforms, in the 
local area. 
3. To support counter-demonstrations against racist and fascist demonstrations, and to 
encourage UCLU members and societies to participate. 
4. To call for and support truly democratic and intersectional anti-fascist organising, which 
should challenge all types of bigotry and oppression, including by supporting migrants’ 
rights and open borders. It should undercut scapegoating and division by uniting workers, 
students and communities in positive demands for social justice. 
5. To endorse and defend the rights of individuals and communities to protect themselves by 
driving fascists out of our communities and campuses and disrupting their attempts to 
demonstrate, organise and spread their ideas. 


 

This Union Mandates: 

 

1. The Democracy & Communications Officer to oversee the implementation of Resolves 1. 
2. The Education & Campaigns Officer to implement Resolves 2. 
3. The Community Officer and the Education & Campaigns Officer to write and release a 
public message of solidarity from UCLU to all the local communities and groups facing the 
threat of fascist and racist violence. 
4. The Welfare & International Officer, in collaboration with relevant UCLU representatives 
and societies, to draft and issue appropriate safety advice to protect members from racist 
and fascist violence. 
5. The Democracy & Communications Officer to ensure UCLU communicates details of 
relevant anti-racist and anti-fascist demonstrations to members.