"The world is a dangerous place to live in; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." Albert Einstein, refugee from Nazi Germany, quoted on Unite Against Fascism's website. Pity this hard left swivel-eyed group don't live up to his ideals.
I took a few days off last week - no Twitter, Facebook, media, politics - bliss (or so my husband said) but one story which was brought to my attention that was hardly covered in the media was the United Against Fascism (UAF) protest against a Ukip public meeting held last Monday in Hove, West Sussex, at which Nigel Farage was headlining.
UAF say they had around 100 protestors from the local Stand up to Ukip coalition groups mainly comprising of a few students - they always turn up to protest as students rightly do, the rest were made up of ... wait for it ... the 'PCS branch secretary of the local DWP, the Brighton Benefits Campaign, a Brighton CityClean worker in dispute with the City Council and a student from the University of Sussex campaign against privatisation who also made the links between ConDem cuts and racist scape goating and emphasised the need to unite the resistance against austerity and racism'. There were also the Queers (and Queens) Against Cuts. Sounds a bit like the rag tag and bobtail crew from Monty Python's People's Liberation Front of Judea (or is it the Judean People's Liberation Front?). Or it would if it wasn't the reality of the hard left's version of democracy.
The UAF stated that 'Ukip supporters had to be escorted by police on a 'walk of shame' through a throng of protesters making it clear that racists, homophobes and misogynists are not welcome in Brighton'.
When I was a student in Woolwich, SE London, I marched with Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League because I believed racism was evil, three decades on the people in those groups I supported do not represent me now.
Nigel Farage has written to David Miliband asking him whether he supports this group. Peter Hain MP, one of their officers, has responded by claiming to know nothing about the demonstration and does 'not approve of their behaviour'. Mr Hain, Ukip is quick to expel our members who make inflammatory statements and I know that we are the only mainstream party that does not admit members who were formerly members of the EDL or BNP, why don't you do the same to these people who disrupted the Ukip meeting, preventing Nigel Farage from speaking for over an hour? That's not democracy, that's against free speech, which you were so brave to fight against in South Africa.
A quick look through UAF's Founding Signatories page shows that the left and Labour is well represented, along with their union bosses, the left's paymaster generals. There are three Conservative names, including David Cameron's. The other two are Chris Heaton-Harris and Sir Teddy Taylor who, I am assuming would be horrified to hear that this motley group can disrupt a democratic meeting in their name.
The union paymasters are all too evident in the UAF. The union presence in Hove was very vocal. I suspect they are really targeting Ukip because they fear losing money, members and voters to Ukip. Labour is failing to represent the working classes - although the meritocratic London elite do not use that term any longer - and are turning to Ukip. Labour is failing to protect their members' jobs. I have spoken to union reps in the north of England who agree that immigration is linked to loss of jobs and cite the closure of the Southampton Ford plant with 500 jobs going to Turkey, aided and abetted by the EU. They are asking where are the six figure salaried union bosses' voices on eastern European immigration and UK job losses?
As a former trade union member and a working-class Tory, I throw down a challenge to Labour to meet us. If you are a union member and official, get in touch, let's sit down over a pint and discuss how Labour has let you down and how Ukip's policies represent the working classes. I am easy to contact.