{"id":18093,"date":"2019-05-22T15:35:10","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T14:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=18093"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:56:28","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:56:28","slug":"liverpool-bootle-united-against-far-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=18093","title":{"rendered":"United against the far right"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Unite members in the North West have stood firm against the far-right in a series of recent demos against Stephen Yaxley-Lennon , also known as Tommy Robinson, who is campaigning in the region in the upcoming European Parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the weekend, Yaxley-Lennon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supporters were vastly outnumbered by Liverpool residents in Bootle who took to the streets to send a clear message that the racism and divisiveness he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s peddling were not welcome.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A video emerged from a rally in Bootle on Saturday (May 19) showing far-right activists trying but failing to burn a Unite flag<\/a>, which, as onlookers highlighted, is fire-retardant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another video which has since gone viral<\/a> shows James Goddard, a prominent Yaxley-Lennon campaign aide, insulting the people of Liverpool at the rally attended by Unite members in Bootle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhy would I want to live in Liverpool? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sh**thole,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Goddard says in the video, as he let slip how he and Yaxley-Lennon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaign really feel about the region they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re ostensibly seeking to represent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unified<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But the people of Liverpool taking a stand against the far right were having none of it \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it was reported later that Goddard was chased up a tree by angry mums.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite member and former Labour councillor for Woolton Alice Bennett, who captured the film footage of far-right activists attempting to burn a Unite flag, said protestors were unified in their stand against Yaxley-Lennon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere was this real sense of solidarity among people at the demo \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we stood united as trade unionists, socialists and anti-racists, and we were all local people,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she told UNITElive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOn the other hand, the people out supporting Yaxley-Lennon were all his pals who travel with him and just follow him around. It was obvious to all that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very little local support for him here.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice explained how demonstrators drowned out Yaxley-Lennon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s PA system with noise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOne man was blasting the \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Oh Jeremy Corbyn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 song from his bedroom nearby,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said, laughing. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe other side really struggled with their PA system so that they couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be heard, which was a success for us. Free speech shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be hate speech.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice said it was \u00e2\u20ac\u015boutrageous\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 that far-right activists had tried to burn a Unite flag \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and that it shows their true colours.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bStephen Yaxley-Lennon styles himself as a man of the people, but the video shows that he and his supporters haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t got a clue,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTrade unions are the movement for working-class people \u00e2\u20ac\u201c attempting to burn a trade union flag is a direct attack against all that we stand for as working-class communities.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Protests in the North West took place just as Unite launched a major advertising campaign<\/a> aimed at boosting voter turnout to stop the far-right in the European elections tomorrow (May 23).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The campaign launch saw billboards in 44 locations across the North West unveiled, including in Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Liverpool. Full page adverts have also appeared in the Liverpool Echo<\/em>, Manchester Evening News<\/em> and Metro<\/em> newspapers, while a major national Facebook campaign potentially reaching millions of voters has also been launched.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner praised people in the North West for standing up against the far-right.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Inspiring\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been inspiring to see proud northern working-class communities taking to the streets to oppose the vile hatred of Yaxley-Lennon and his ilk \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he and his supporters have shown\u00c2\u00a0what they really feel about working-class people, which is nothing but contempt,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut this solidarity in the streets must translate to votes at the ballot box if we are to hit the far right where it will hurt them most. Low voter turn-out in previous European parliamentary elections has allowed far-right candidates to sneak into power \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let it happen again. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Unite is calling on all people to take part in tomorrow\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s elections and vote Labour.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice also urged people to take part in tomorrow\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s European elections.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNot everyone has the time to attend demos to make their voices heard,” she said. “But voting takes ten minutes and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the best way to stop the march of the far-right. Yaxley-Lennon has fascist links on an international scale \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s funded by the likes of Steve Bannon and other far-right activists and groups. People in Europe do not want to see the rise of fascism again \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen the destruction it causes and we must stand united against it.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey agreed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe only winners of a low turnout in this week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s European elections will be the likes of Yaxley-Lennon and those that seek to divide our communities,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wonder \u00e2\u20ac\u0098if only I had voted\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 when the results are in. Make sure the tolerance and respect that runs through the communities of the North West is the winner by using your vote.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bStop those seeking to use these elections to gain a platform to spread their message of fear and hate by getting out to vote to stop the far right and voting Labour this Thursday.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite members in the North West have stood firm against the far-right in a series of recent demos against Stephen Yaxley-Lennon , also known as Tommy Robinson, who is campaigning in the region in the upcoming European Parliamentary elections.   At the weekend, Yaxley-Lennon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supporters were vastly outnumbered by Liverpool residents in Bootle who took […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18074,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"wps_subtitle":"Vote tomorrow to stop the politics of hate","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18093"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18093"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25267,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18093\/revisions\/25267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}