Reunite against the far right: We cannot be silent
A far right demonstration at our union’s office in Southampton was a coordinated attempt to intimidate Unite Community members and to silence our union. In response we must Reunite – to defend our union, to defend each other, and to stop the far right.
On 29th January far right thugs styling themselves as the Southampton Patriots held a demonstration outside of Unite’s Southampton office. Their aim was to intimidate a meeting of Unite Community, whose meeting included a discussion on the threat of the far right. Reunite has been told that the meeting agenda had been shared with a member of the group, but it remains unclear who leaked this information.
Despite footage of masked thugs castigating Unite Community members being widely circulated on social media, there has been no official statement from the union’s leadership. If the goal of the far right is to silence our union, they will only be encouraged by the silence of Sharon Graham.
As Reunite has warned, our unions and many thousands of our members are firmly in the sights of the far right. Any strategy of appeasement and silence throws thousands of our members under the bus. Our union is as diverse as the working class and we must defend each other. That must mean all of us.
Anybody with awareness of the international situation can see where this ends. In Italy, the union offices of the CGIL was attacked and stormed by far right extremists in 2021. Now Italy is under a far right government. In the USA, trade unionist and health worker Alex Pretti was murdered in Minneapolis by agents of the Trump government. The fight against the far right is global and we must face it together. Not in silence.
A Reunite supporter in Southampton reports that the Unite Community branch targeted by the protest has issued communications independently citing a pending investigation in the region. It is not clear who is the subject of the investigation actually is - the person who leaked the meeting agenda or our Community members themselves.
Reunite is not prepared to be silent. We will campaign within our union and within our workplaces and communities for our union to lead the fight against the far right.
We are preparing new resources and support for Unite reps and members. For more information and to support this work you can contact Reunite through this website or by emailing: reunitetheunion@gmail.com
It’s time to stop the far right.
It’s time to Reunite.
