Kmflett's Blog

Cable St 4th October 1936. They did not pass, they shall not pass

Today is the 87^th anniversary of the Battle of Cable St when Mosley’s fascists were stopped from marching in the East End by a demonstration of the local community, trade unionists, socialists and anti-fascists. As Michael Rosen has noted of his parents Connie and Harold who were present on that day, they had seen Hitler and Franco and now Mosley was trying to do the same in Britain.

The fascists did not go away of course. After the war the British Union of Fascists were backing trying to intimidate Jews. The 43 Group was formed to stop them and the late Morris Beckman wrote a history of it:

The 43 Group was disbanded in 1950 but the fascists remained in active and in 1962 the 62 Group was formed to stop the successors to the BUF, the National Socialist Movement and others from attacking Jews and others.

An excellent series on this was broadcast by the BBC in 2021. Ridley Rd was written by Sarah Solemani who was born in Stamford Hill and whose father was active in the Anti-Nazi League

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/oct/03/sarah-solemani-fascists-arent-just-monstrous-robots-understanding-this-might-help-us

Even after the 62 Group’s work the fascists didn’t go away. By the mid-1970s they were back as the National Front still marching to intimidate minorities. The Battles of Wood Green and Lewisham saw them stopped on the street and the Anti-Nazi League was formed.

Like other fascist groups before them, the NF declined but as before in due course they were back as the BNP. They too were confronted, for example at Welling in 1993 where they had established a ‘bookshop’.

Unite Against Fascism was launched in 2003 and successfully opposed the BNP, which like other fascist groups before them declined.

More recently the EDL guided by Stephen Yaxley Lennon and others became the main fascist group on the streets. It too was confronted by anti-fascists and appears to have declined.

The wider point is that fascist politics are endemic to a market capitalist society, sometimes finding support, sometimes not, depending on context and times. As at Cable St 86 years ago however if they are not opposed they can become a serious problem.

Looking around Europe or the US it can be seen that fascist and far right politics continues to thrive in many places. Opposing it is essential but the task of doing it requires organisation, strategy and tactics and not everyone always agrees. It still needs to be done though.

Andrea Jenkyns who claims to be the Education Minister has criticised the teacy edhing of ‘critical race theory, anti-British history and sociological marxism’ at a fringe event at the Tory Party Conference’ (Guardian)

Sociological marxism may be a variant of cultural marxism. This term which was in vogue with a number of Tories seems to have declined in use, although we have yet to hear from his leading exponent Home Secretary Sullea Braverman. She was asked by the Jewish Board of Deputies in 2019 to stop using the term

In 1979 I was a sociology teacher who had studied actual Marxism at University. Mrs Thatcher was elected and Sir Keith Joseph had a major influence on Tory education policy. I decided to look elsewhere for work.

William Morris, socialist & beard wearer d.3^rd October 1896. His message to Tories: ‘I want to get mumbo jumbo out of the world’

William Morris the socialist and beard wearer died 130 years ago this week on 3rd October 1896.He died peacefully aged 62.

E P Thompson in his political biography of Morris (Romantic to Revolutionary) noted:

Almost his last words were ‘I want to get mumbo jumbo out of the world’.

His GP reported with ‘unhesitation’ that Morris’s death was due to him being a victim of ‘his enthusiasm for spreading the principles of socialism’.

Another Doctor suggested that the cause of death was ‘simply being William Morris, and having done more work than most ten men’

Liz Truss fails Tony Benn’s democracy tests

On Laura Kuessenberg’s Sunday morning politics programme Liz Truss was asked who had voted for her economic policy. There was a prolonged silence after which Truss asked Kuessenberg to clarify the question. In doing so Truss failed the second of Tony Benn’s democracy tests.

The late Tony Benn had a five tests of the legitimate democratic authority of those he came across:

What power have you got?

Where did you get it from?

In whose interests do you exercise it?

To whom are you accountable?

How can we get rid of you?

Not perhaps what we’d expect from a Church and King PM

2^nd October

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett 07803 167266

Congratulations to Beard Friendly Cock Tavern E8 on its 10^th Birthday

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has congratulated the Cock Tavern, Mare St E8 on the 10^th anniversary of its opening.

The Cock has won the Beard Friendly Pub of the Year award more times than any other pub.

The vote was not held in 2022, post-Covid but will return early in 2023

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we congratulate the Cock on maintaining a beer and beard friendly approach over a decade. It has inspired many other beard friendly pubs and it stands as beard friendly icon

The Beard Friendly Pub

A safe environment for all.

Beard Friendly Pub: a pub that welcomes the hirsute and often has a significant number of hirsute customers, including but certainly not confined to those with modern styles of beards.

Beard Friendly Ambience: a pub that may have fewer hirsute customers but is welcoming to the hirsute through some bearded bar staff and beard friendly beers, plus has a generally relaxed atmosphere for all.

The campaign group says it welcomes diversity in both appearance and drinking. The truly beard friendly pub will have a genuine mix of customers not just a load of old blokes grumbling about life.

The Ambridge Socialist

2^nd October

The spirit of Joe Grundy lives

This week in the Archers has been mostly about Kenton’s youth diary, Eddie and George managed to persuade Kenton that the reference to him kissing Clarrie 40 years ago was sufficient to cause a breakdown in their marriage. In compensation Eddie pursued free beer at the Bull and some bar shifts for Clarrie. As she noted the spirit of Joe Grundy lives

Grundy Memorial at St Stephens

The Grundys are of course Methodists so chapel not church. However after the Vicar of St Stephens appropriate decision to reject Peggy’s attempt to have a permanent memorial to the Archer Dynasty in the Church. We say there should be an annual Grundy cider festival in the Church. The Rev Alan Franks is known to be a fan of Tumble Tussocks

Grundy’s Turkeys, thriving for now

The turkey season has started early at Grange Farm with Eddie, via George, buying in extra stock. What Mia Grundy thinks about all this hopefully we will find out

Kenton’s Diary and Harold Wilson

Kenton revealed that in 1974 he had been in favour of a Hung Parliament, was keen on Harold Wilson and thought of himself as a socialist. It was enough to cause apoplexy in the Archer household at the time- not reported by the BBC. Kenton is played by Richard Attlee who is related to Clement Attlee

What colour scheme should Brookfield have?

Red

After the Johnson Government, the Truss regime refines Old Corruption

The Government of Johnson was of course a bad one, so bad that his own MPs ejected him eventually. One speciality was the letting of Government contracts to their mates.

It was an echo of the pre-1832 Reform Act practice of Old Corruption. That is a system that lacked democratic accountability, where people held political positions and exploited them for their own wealth, not on the basis of competence or suitability, but of who they were and who they knew.

Rupert Murdoch who owns the Times brand clearly wants Johnson’s successor Liz Truss gone as the Sunday Times (2^nd Oct) has run several stories on dubious practices at the centre of Government.

The Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is reported to have attended a champagne party for hedge fund managers shortly after his Fiscal Statement that removed the cap on banker’s bonuses and handed out tax cuts for the rich. The paper reports that several attendees referred to Kwarteng as a ‘useful idiot’.

Also reported is that several senior Truss aides were in fact being paid by the lobbying firm of Mark Fullbrook, Truss’s Chief of Staff. Only when the matter came to light did the Government agree that this was inappropriate and put them on the Government payroll

Having a drink with friends at the well known craft beer and beard pub in central Hackney on Friday evening I noticed that the (clean shaven) man at the next table was reading Sartre with his pint.

I can reveal that the book was Sartre’s first novel, Nausea, about a dejected historian who struggles to understand the impact of the world on his consciousness.

Perhaps he was pondering in this respect the impact of the beer on his thought processes.

Sartre (1915-1980) is known more as a smoke of pipes and cigarettes than as a drinker but I’m sure the occasional glass was imbibed

Does it matter if 32 Wetherspoons pubs are up for sale?

Earlier this week Wetherspoons announced they were selling 32 of their pubs.  Spoons do sometimes shut or sell pubs but this quite a large number in an 800 pub estate.

It is reportedly related to Wetherspoons making a financial loss. While it might be assumed that the pubs concerned are poor performers it might equally be that they are on sites where a sale is likely. The Penderels Oak in Holborn is on the list. One presumes that the pub has been hit by a downturn in office workers trade but its still in a prominent location.

Roger Protz has tweeted that whatever one’s opinion of Tim Martin and Spoons  many of these pubs are well used locals- I’ve posted on the Tollgate in Turnpike Lane, Those without much money- that’s many of us now- can afford a well-priced pint of cask beer or indeed lager. They can also do so in a social environment instead of stuck at home with a can in front of the TV.

There is I think a case for pubs like Wetherspoons, just not run by them, recognising a union for staff and cutting the Brexit  crap