The Far Right is on the march – but where is Unite?
The Far Right are on the march in the UK and Unite must act now with the rest of the UK trade union movement to face the dangers head on. As Reform become bolder in targeting our members and trying to build support in our workplaces, our union’s response must not be held back by a ‘weathervane’ General Secretary whose only consideration is opportunism. From whipping up racist riots last year, organising demonstrations at hotels housing asylum seekers, to driving the campaign to raise the St George’s flag everywhere, the far right are spreading hatred and division and attacking society’s most vulnerable rather than challenging those responsible for the problems this country faces. As part of this organised strategy, and right on cue, last week saw the leader of the UK’s Far Right movement – Nigel Farage – launch the Reform Party’s so-called immigration policy. Full of racist stereotypes about the dangers asylum seekers pose to women and children (while conveniently ignoring the fact that 40% of those arrested in last year’s racists riots were found to have records for domestic violence), and full of the usual rhetoric that migrants are to blame for the country’s ills while posing in front of an enormous union jack backdrop, Farage pledged to withdraw the UK from the European Court of Human Rights, abolish the UK’s Human Rights Act, and withdraw from any international conventions – such as the UN Refugees Convention – that are allegedly preventing the UK from ‘sending them all back’. These events and the whole atmosphere surrounding Farage’s stage act this week reek of fascism and it should be clear to everyone that they are part of a thought out and planned strategy aimed at bringing the far right to power at the next general election via Reform and Farage.
Where is Unite?
We must not give into despair or the fatalism of those who appear to be just waiting for a Reform victory at the next election. We should be bold and take heart from the fact that the far-right protests are often small and often outnumbered by the anti-fascist counter demonstrations. But the far right’s message is being amplified and pushed by a UK media that has spent decades preparing the ground for just the type of right wing insurgency that is now taking shape. Our union is uniquely placed to counter their poisonous message to over a million workers.
The question for Unite members and activists must be where is our union right now and why have our leadership been silent?
Apparently Unite Regional Secretaries have been told to encourage members to attend the national demonstration on September 13th in London, but as of today (4 th September 2025) there is no notice on the Unite website and no circulars appear to have been sent to members, officers, staff or organisers. Sharon Graham’s ‘X’ account is similarly silent on the matter and it is understood that she will not be speaking at the national demonstration but will be sending one of her less known cultist supporters Onay Kasab to stand in for her instead. This comes as no surprise given that Sharon Graham stopped a member of her comms team from issuing a press release criticising Reform for threatening job cuts at councils they won control of during the May elections. Apparently, Sharon believed many Unite members may have voted for Reform and did not want to upset any of them given that she is up for election again next year, but what does this say about her politics? Similarly, there was no criticism from Sharon on Reform and Conservative speakers being invited to take the stage at the Lindsey Oil Refinery rally. To cap it all, the running down and sidelining of Unite’s Unity over Division work at such a time is unforgivable and dangerous – the message of Unite retreating from the fight against the far right is crystal clear.
Reunite to take on the right!
Fighting the rise of fascism and the far right is far too important for it to be sacrificed at the altar of Sharon Graham’s next election. Fighting the far right and mobilising against it is something that should bring the whole of Unite together. We must not allow the far right to spread hatred and division in the workplace and we should not allow them to spread it in the wider society. Fighting the far right is a fight that will bring the union together and give us back a clear voice and direction in the workplace and wider society. To try and avoid this right now is like trying to find accommodation with the fascists and Nazi’s in the 1930s, it will be a mistake of historic proportions. Working class communities are drifting towards Reform following decades of industrial decline, austerity, and now a devastating wave of major site closures. Starmer’s Labour has offered no break from the economic model of Thatcherism and that must change. Unite cannot withdrawal from this challenge. We cannot retreat to our strongholds. We must have our own analysis of this economic failure and provide our own answers based on positively rebuilding workers’ collective power in this new era. The old, tired ideas will no longer work and nor will cynically cosying up to the threat. It is time to reunite to fight the far right. That means being unafraid of stating clearly who we are and what we stand for. We cannot beat the far-right by appeasing them or cynically casting aside what unites us. We must be confident in our union’s ability to confront the real reasons our people are turned towards the siren calls of the far right. We have the answers – industrially and politically - but it takes real leadership to proclaim and pursue them when it feels we are pushing against the tide and a hostile media is arrayed against us. Those who do not have the stomach for the fight should get out of the way and let those who do lead the way.
