Defeating narratives of division
Join us, as we create a grassroots orientated democratic resurgence. One that demands action is taken to address problems in our communities, and brings people together across artificial divides to build community power.
​
The far-right are on the march, but there are more people of goodwill than there are of them. If we get ourselves organised, drawing inspiration from our history, we can build power in our communities in a process which not only isolates the narratives of division, but also begins to address the feelings of fear, resentment and despair that they are parasitic upon.
​
We have published a manifesto for change, and are open-sourcing a range of educational materials that you can deliver to groups in your community that want to build a new, more inclusive, story of us.
Read on to find out more and get involved!
In July 2024, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, won over 4 million votes, one in seven of all votes cast: the highest vote ever for a far-right party in the UK. Reform is hostile to migration, and Farage has implied that Muslims are a ‘fifth column’ undermining the UK.
Less than a month later, we witnessed the most widespread racist rioting, initiated by the far-right, in over 100 years, with violence flaring in numerous towns. Perhaps most worrying was the ability of the far-right to draw in the wider community to both their conspiracy theories and their violence.
Exploiting genuine resentments about the cost of living, the housing crisis and insecure employment prospects (and dishonestly blaming migrants and minorities for all ills), these narratives of division are growing. However, they can and must be stopped.
By organising together in our communities we can start to address the root causes of people’s frustration and resentment, that the far-right are parasitic on.
By bringing people together, as allies, to build the power necessary to effect change, we can create a new, inclusive sense of ‘us’, where people see each other not as a problem, but as part of the solution.
There is no time to lose, we have to get organised and start showing our people that they don’t need artificial scapegoats, they have the power to create positive change.​
Want to know more?​​
​
Download our booklet and training materials, on community organising to advance democracy and defeat the narratives of division.
Want to get involved?
​​
We want to facilitate meetings with local organisers, build a learning circle to explore lessons learned, and more.
To get involved, or help fund this work, please sign-up here.
In the final years of the last Conservative government, we entered a period when the Prime Minister was trying to get the police to ban a perfectly lawful protest march, and the Home Secretary described peace protesters as a hate mob.
If that is not warning enough, we need only look around the world to see how authoritarian populists have divided communities and either won elections, or come frighteningly close:
Trump, Erdogan, Modi, Le Pen, Orbán, and others.
These ‘authoritarian populists’ stir up resentment against minorities, and build themselves up as ‘strong leaders’ who will defy conventions to ‘get the job done’. What that generally means is that they will rip up democratic norms, undermine our democratic rights and demonise or criminalise opposition.
