The poison of fascism has returned to our streets’ says Zarah Sultana at home town rally ahead of national Your Party founding conference
Zarah Sultana MP has called for the left to unite against fascism, which she believes is a grave threat to the positive multiculturalism and diversity of Britain.
Speaking at a Your Party rally in her home city of Birmingham, the independent Member of Parliament for Coventry South condemned right-wing figures including Nigel Farage, Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk for instigating division and “culture wars” among ordinary Britons.
“In case you couldn’t tell from my strong Brummie accent, this is my hometown, and it’s always a pleasure to speak here. But the warning lights are flashing again. The poison of fascism has returned to our streets and to our TV screens.
“In this region of the West Midlands, we’ve seen a South Asian Sikh woman raped in a racially motivated attack in Oldlbury, we’ve seen a Sikh South Asian woman raped in a racially motivated attack in Walsall, we’ve seen mosques attacked across the country, we’ve seen women and children targeted for the colour of their skin and whether they choose to wear a headscarf. People are living in fear. Now this isn’t the past. This is Britain now.”
She added: “Last summer was a wake-up call, but September was a wake-up, another wake-up call where 150,000 emboldened fascists marched in London led by fascist Tommy Robinson chanting racist, Islamophobic, anti-migrant slogans. And we have to be clear about who’s backing them because it isn’t nurses, teachers, or bin workers. It’s the richest man on the planet, Elon Musk, an insecure nepo baby that is literally paying Tommy Robinson’s legal fees, a billionaire who floods our feeds with hatred and conspiracy. He is openly bankrolling fascism yet no one bats an eyelid.”
Laying out her vision for what the provisionally named ‘Your Party’ represents ahead of its founding conference in Liverpool this weekend, the 32-year-old lawmaker called out the Labour Party for pandering to the far-right in its approach to immigration:
“And now we have a Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, who’s introduced anti-migrant proposals that Tommy Robinson has endorsed. I asked her if she felt proud, as the daughter of migrants, to kick away the ladder from some of the most vulnerable people seeking sanctuary from war and persecution, and she said my question was beneath contempt. I’ll tell you what’s beneath contempt, a Labour Government that attacks the most marginalised, rolls out the red carpet for the Israeli Government, and locks up people opposing genocide.”
Sultana described socialism as “beautiful”, insisting that working class unity had to replace capitalism as the solution for a fairer society, called for the abolition of the British monarchy, and demanded leading Labour figures be tried for war crimes for enabling a genocide.
“Socialism doesn’t recognise borders. We stand with the oppressed everywhere, from Sudan to Congo to Palestine. And let me say this loudly and proudly, I am an anti-Zionist, and if we fight for it, Your Party will be an anti-Zionist party, sever all ties with the apartheid state of Israel. We must expel the ambassador. We must shut down the embassy. And we must stand with Palestinians until every inch of their land is free. A single democratic state from the river to the sea with equal rights for all.
“Because you cannot be neutral on apartheid, you cannot normalise genocide, and Israel must be treated exactly how South Africa was under apartheid, as a pariah state, and we must ensure a day of reckoning comes for those who have enabled genocide. We will not rest until Keir Starmer, David Lammy, Shabana Mahmood, and the rest of them are in the docks of The Hague, held to account. Blood is on their hands.”
She added: “We are not here to just tweak the system, lower some bills, and sprinkle a wealth tax. We are here for a fundamental transformation of society, to replace capitalism with socialism. And that means democracy in every workplace, every community, and every corner of life.
“Workers controlling the means of production, communities controlling the wealth that they create. That is socialism. I’m very proud to be a socialist, and we should all wear it as a badge of honour.”
She also commented on those seeking to “sabotage” Your Party and create division within the organisation through press leaks and intimidation.
“Unfortunately, we saw before my appearance on Question Time, a deliberate act of sabotage. And I say this, as a movement, we are not going to tolerate a culture of leaks to the Murdoch press, legal threats, bullying, intimidation, Islamophobia, sexism, and smears. The time for this is up. This is not a game. This is about people’s lives. And we have fascism growling at the door, women of colour being attacked in the streets. The stakes are too high, and this is more important than anyone’s ego.”
Sultana reiterated her solidarity with the transgender community:
“Politics that doesn’t centre the most marginalised isn’t worthy of the name socialism. That means saying loudly and unequivocally that trans rights are human rights.
“The rise of transphobia we are seeing is deliberate. It is being stoked as a wider culture war to divide our communities. And just like with disabled people, just like with migrants, just like with Muslims, the goal is always the same. Find a scapegoat to distract people from who is really holding the power, an old tactic from the ruling class, divide and rule.”
Joining Sultana on the platform at The Bordesley Centre was Lewis Nielsen (Stand Up To Racism), Coventry councillor Grace Lewis who recently defected from Labour to Your Party, Kate Taylor from Brum Rise Up, Striking Birmingham bin worker Matt Reid, Mus from Kings Heath United Against Racism, BFAWU trade union leader Ian Hodson. The event was chaired by former Labour NEC member Mish Rahman.
Sultana and her fellow speakers also put their weight behind the Birmingham bin strike workers, who have been taking industrial action for eight months in a row over pay and jobs.
Lewis Nielsen from Stand Up To Racism told the audience Birmingham belonged to the people of the city, not its Labour MPs:
“Birmingham isn’t a city that belongs to Jess Phillips or Shabana Mahmood, Birmingham belongs to the bin strikers, the anti-racist campaigners, to the Palestine movement, that’s the kind of city it is.”
Touching on teething issues around the launch of Your Party, he said:
“Look at the 800,000 people who signed up to be a part of this thing in July. There is hope over horror, the question is how do we give a lead to it? It’s been a bumpy ride. Everyone here knows mistakes have been made and it hasn’t been the easiest start but I want to stress a note of optimism, and I want to say that this thing can work, that we can do this. The reason I’m optimistic is because it needs to be done. If we can’t do this then our future is one of Farage and the far-right.
“There’s a number of things we can say about how this thing goes forward. Number one is the public rows and briefings to journalists and the public insults have to stop now!
“The kind of statements that were put out before Zarah went on Question Time should have no place in our movement. We want a unified party, and I know Zarah wants this, a unified party of Zarah and Jeremy leading it could be an exertive force in Britain.”
