British Learn About Tea Parties

IREHR in the UK

From the reaction of the audiences during my recent Searchlight-sponsored speaking tour of the United Kingdom, July 17-21, it appears that there is a high level of interest and concern about the influence of the Tea Parties on the political scene here in the United States. During the weeklong series of events around England and Wales, I also had an opportunity to learn more about the successful organizing strategies of Hope Not Hate—the Searchlight campaign to counter the growing electoral influence of the British National Party (BNP).

The tour began in London at a Labour Friends of Searchlight conference. Early in the day, highly-regarded Labour MP John Cruddas encouraged the crowd to learn from one another, and declared that Labour “must create a party rooted in a culture of organizing.” Continuing the organizing thread, I used my keynote speech to discuss the organizing techniques utilized by the Right in the United States. From the Christian Coalition to the Tea Parties, the Right has adapted new organizing techniques to stymie progressive change. The conference concluded with a debate featuring four of the top contenders to become the new leader of the Labour Party.

After the conference, I had the opportunity to talk with three of Hope Not Hate’s newest organizers from the hugely successful campaign in Barking and Dagenham—the main electoral target of the BNP in 2010 where they thought they could take over the local council. The tireless efforts of Hope Not Hate organizers like Ellie, Sam, and David, combined with the hard work of the many dedicated volunteers, helped prevent all fifty-one candidates from the British National Party from getting elected. David, Ellie, and Sam and I talked extensively about how the Hope Not Hate campaign has been able to move forward while still watching their backs.

After a day exploring London, I met back up with my guide for the week, Searchlight’s Matthew Collins. Before becoming a Searchlight staffer, Matthew risked his life for several years working undercover inside the BNP to provide valuable information to anti-fascists. Over the course of the trip, Matthew and I spent hours talking about his organizing work with Searchlight and about his time among the fascists as he’s chronicled in a new book, due out this fall, Behind the Flags: The True Story of a Young Life Among the Nazis, Gun-Runners and Politicians of the British Far-Right.

The two of us traveled to Cardiff, Wales, then on to Birmingham, and up to Manchester, before returning to London. At each of these events, the vast majority of the attendees responded that they closely followed American politics and were concerned about the rise of the Tea Parties. In my presentations, I discussed the birth of the Tea Party movement, and the size, scope, and ideology of the national factions.

Back in London for the final event of the tour, we held a public meeting to discuss the Tea Party phenomenon in the council chambers of Unison—Britain’s biggest public sector trade union. At the end of my presentation, there was tremendous interest in hearing about efforts to counter the rapid growth of the Tea Parties. We discussed the resolution passed by the NAACP condemning racism in the Tea Parties, and the NAACP delegates who held up “Hope Not Hate” signs on the convention floor.

After our last event of the tour, we went for a curry with Narmada Thiranagama, one of the trade unionists in the Searchlight delegation that visited the United States during the 2008 elections. I helped organize the delegation’s trip to Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. During the trip, we met with immigrant rights and trade union leaders, campaign strategists and local community organizers to give the delegation a real taste of the campaigning. Speaking of tastes, Narmada and I even found time for a side-trip to Pat’s King of Steaks for some real Philly Cheese Steaks (none of that English-Only nonsense served up by Geno’s for us, thank you!).

Special thanks to Searchlight, Hope Not Hate, Unison, and the many people who came out to these events. There is much that we have to learn from one another, and I look forward to continuing the conversation.